# dunno

Pronunciation: US say "duh-NOH" /dəˈnoʊ/; UK say "DUN-oh" /ˈdʌnəʊ/

## Contraction

1. Pronunciation spelling of do not know, also used to represent does not know. *(colloquial)* — Pronunciation spelling of do not know; pronunciation spelling of does not know.
   - Simple: Pronunciation spelling of do not know. It shows how the words sound in fast, casual speech.
   - _I dunno why the bus is running so late today._
   - _They keep asking, but we dunno when he's coming back._

## Noun

2. A spoken instance of saying "dunno": an offhand reply used in place of a real answer.
   - Simple: A spoken "dunno" that someone gives instead of a real answer.
   - _His only response to the detective's question was a flat dunno._
   - _The teacher was tired of the dunnos she got whenever she asked about homework._

## Origin

This is the written form of an informal pronunciation of "don't know," which is itself a reduction of "do not know" or "does not know."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/dunno (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).