noes

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of no.

   When the chair counted the ballots, the noes outnumbered the ayes by a wide margin.

   A scattering of reluctant noes settled the question for good.

   Note

   The plural that does its work in a vote count. The noes are the votes against a proposition, tallied against the ayes or yeses to settle an outcome, most often in parliamentary and electoral settings. It can also count refusals more loosely, as in a string of noes from a reluctant audience. The spelling adds -es, as in heroes and echoes, rather than a bare -s.

2. 2
   verbcolloquial

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of no.

   Whenever the committee proposes change, the senior member noes it outright.

   He noes any suggestion before he has even heard the reasons behind it.

   Note

   The same spelling also serves a colloquial verb. To no something is to answer it with "no", to decline or reject it. The verb works with or without an object: she noes the plan, or he simply noes. Because it looks identical to the plural of votes against, the grammar tells them apart. An article or number in front marks the noun, and a subject in front marks the verb. It belongs to casual speech, not formal writing.

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