Meaning & use

let alone

conjunction·Academic

Used after a negative statement to emphasize that something further is even less likely or necessary.

See it in a sentence

He can't even boil an egg, let alone cook a full dinner for guests.

The town has no hospital, let alone a specialist for rare conditions.

A note on using this word

Always follows a negative clause and introduces something more extreme, making the initial claim feel even stronger by comparison.

Words with a similar meaning

much less

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Make it your own

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