nope

SayNOHPUS/noʊp/UK/nəʊp/

Noun pluralnopes

6 meanings of nope

1
particlecolloquialemphatic
A relaxed, friendly way of saying no.
Nope, I don't want to go outside today.
When I asked if he was coming, he just said nope.
Similarno
Oppositeyeah, yes
Note
2
nouncolloquialcountable
A spoken no that someone gives as an answer.
Her answer was a simple nope.
I asked twice and got a nope both times.
Similarno, refusal
Oppositeyes
Note
3
nounslangcountable
Something so unpleasant that you reject it the moment you see it.
Like jumping back the second you spot a giant bug.
A spider that big is a total nope for me.
Camping in the freezing rain? That's a nope.
Similarno
Note
4
noundialectalEast MidlandsNorthern Englandcountable
A hit on someone's head.
One good nope knocked him off his feet.
The fighter took a hard nope and stumbled backward.
Similarblow, knock, clout, whack
Note

Less common meanings

5
nounarchaic
A bullfinch, a small songbird.
A nope was pecking at the seeds we left on the sill.
I may note that olp, if pronounced ope, as it sometimes is, may be the origin of nope; an ope, and a nope, differ as little as possible.
1823, Edward Moor, Suffolk Words and PhrasesHere, nope means a bullfinch, a small songbird.
Note
6
verbarchaicEast MidlandsNorthern England
To hit someone on the head.
He warned that he would nope anyone who cheated at cards.
"Nope him on the costard," said Ben Bolter.
1851, Sylvester Judd, Margaret: a tale of the real and the idealHere, nope means hit him on the head.
Note

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1–3

This comes from saying "no" with the mouth snapping shut at the end.

Meaning 5

Probably from splitting "an ope" wrongly, coming from "alp," meaning bullfinch.

Meanings 4, 6

It may have been shaped by the words "nape" and "knap."