Basic+ Word of the Day: neither

neither (conjunction, adjective, pronoun)

Neither road will get me home.

Neither means ‘not either.’

• Neither key opens the lock.
• Neither of Evan's parents went to college.

Neither can mean ‘not one or the other.’

• After drinking too much wine last night, Jim could neither eat nor drink.
• Neither Max nor Esther could solve the math problem.

Common uses

neither here nor there: not important. Example: “Whether you win the race is neither here nor there. What is important is that you have fun.”

Did you know?

Watch this video for a quick lesson on how to use the negative conjunctions neither and nor, as well as their positive equivalents either and or.

In pop culture

Watch Gladys Knight and the Pips sing “Neither One of Us (wants to be the first to say goodbye).”

There are other meanings of neither.