Noes is the plural of no, meaning multiple negative votes or responses. When a group votes on something and the leader asks, “All those opposed, say no,” the noes are counted against the yeses to determine the outcome.

You'll often hear this word when people vote by voice in clubs, student councils, or town meetings. The chairperson might say, “The noes have it,” meaning more people voted against the proposal than for it. In formal settings like Congress or Parliament, someone might call for a count of the noes to make sure the results are accurate.

The word comes up in the phrase “the ayes have it” versus “the noes have it.” Ayes (pronounced like “eyes”) means yes votes in formal voting. So when votes are tied, you might hear, “The ayes and noes are equal,” which means the yes votes and no votes came out even.

Outside of voting, you might use noes when talking about multiple rejections: “After three noes from different publishers, the author finally got a yes for her book.”