"Not applicable," often abbreviated as "N/A" or "NA," is a phrase used to indicate that something does not apply or is not relevant in a particular context. It is commonly used in forms, surveys, questionnaires, or situations where a question or category may not have a valid answer for a specific individual or circumstance.

For example, imagine you are filling out a job application and one of the required fields asks for your driver's license number. If you don't have a driver's license, you would enter "N/A" or "not applicable" in that field to indicate that the question does not apply to you because you do not possess a driver's license. The phrase "not applicable" was used to indicate that a particular question or category is not relevant or does not have a valid answer for the given situation or individual.

Now, suppose you do not have a scuba diving license. An example of a question that is applicable versus one that is not applicable would be "Do you have a scuba diving license?" and "What kind of scuba diving license do you hold?" Even though you do not have a scuba diving license, the first question would still be applicable because you can answer "No." Meanwhile, you would answer "not applicable" for the second question because the question assumes that you already have a scuba diving license. You would answer "not applicable" or the abbreviated "N/A" because the question does not apply to you or your situation.

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Example sentences

  1. The question about marital status is not applicable on this form; you can leave it blank.
  2. In the context of our project, the previous experience with coding is not applicable.
  3. For those under the age of 18, the section on retirement plans is not applicable.
  4. If you are a vegetarian, the question about meat consumption is not applicable to you.
  5. The "military service" category is not applicable for those who have never served in the armed forces.
  6. When submitting your medical history, you can mark "not applicable" for any conditions that do not pertain to you.
  7. The "manual labor experience" section is not applicable for office-based job applicants.
  8. If you're a non-smoker, the question about tobacco usage is not applicable.
  9. In the context of a children's toy survey, questions about retirement savings are not applicable.
  10. If you have no allergies, you can mark "not applicable" for the allergy section on the medical form.

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Reference:

n/a
1. written abbreviation for not applicable: used on a form when you cannot give…
definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary