*No-One or *Noone or No One | Meaning, Definition & Spelling
No one is an indefinite pronoun meaning ‘nobody’. No-one, with a hyphen, is also considered acceptable in UK English (though it’s less common than ‘no one’).
‘Noone’, written without spaces, is incorrect and should be avoided.
- Noone asked for your advice.
- No-one asked for your advice.
- No one asked for your advice.
Scribbr’s Free Grammar Checker can help ensure you’re using phrases like ‘no one’ correctly in your writing.
How to use no one in a sentence
No one is an indefinite pronoun meaning the same as ‘nobody’. Because it’s treated as a singular noun, it’s always followed by a singular verb form.
- Besides Dave, no one are interested.
- Besides Dave, no one is interested.
- No one know the answer.
- No one knows the answer.
No one is also grammatically negative, so using it in a negative statement (i.e., a construction that includes the adverb ‘not’) creates a double negative that confuses your meaning.
- No one doesn’t want dessert. [technically means “Everyone wants dessert”]
- No one wants dessert.
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If you want to know more about commonly confused words, definitions, and differences between US and UK spellings, make sure to check out some of our other language articles with explanations, examples, and quizzes.
Definitions
US vs. UK spellings
Frequently asked questions
- Is ‘no one’ one word or two?
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No one (two words) is an indefinite pronoun meaning ‘nobody’. People sometimes mistakenly write ‘noone’, but this is incorrect and should be avoided. ‘No-one’, with a hyphen, is also acceptable in UK English.
Scribbr’s Free Grammar Checker can help make sure you’re using phrases like ‘no one’ correctly in your writing.
- What’s the difference between ‘nobody’ and ‘no one’?
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Nobody and no one are both indefinite pronouns meaning ‘no person’. They can be used interchangeably (e.g., ‘nobody is home’ means the same as ‘no one is home’).
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Ryan, E. (2024, October 08). *No-One or *Noone or No One | Meaning, Definition & Spelling. Scribbr. Retrieved 17 February 2025, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/common-errors/noone-vs-no-one/
