void

American  

[void] / vɔɪd /

adjective

1. Law.  having no legal force or effect; not legally binding or enforceable.

2. useless; ineffectual; vain.

3. devoid; destitute (usually followed byof ).

   a life void of meaning.

4. without contents; empty.

5. without an incumbent, as an office.

   Synonyms:

   unoccupied , vacant

6. Mathematics.  (of a set) containing no elements; empty.

7. (in cards) having no cards in a suit.

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noun

1. an empty space; emptiness.

   He disappeared into the void.

   Synonyms:

   lack , absence , vacuum

2. something experienced as a loss or privation.

   His death left a great void in her life.

3. a gap or opening, as in a wall.

4. Typography.  counter.

5. (in cards) lack of cards in a suit.

   a void in clubs.

verb (used with object)

1. to make ineffectual; invalidate; nullify.

   to void a check.

2. to empty; discharge; evacuate.

   to void excrement.

3. to clear or empty (often followed byof ).

   to void a chamber of occupants.

4. Archaic.  to depart from; vacate.

verb (used without object)

1. to defecate or urinate.

void British  

/ vɔɪd /

adjective

1. without contents; empty

2. not legally binding

   null and void

3. (of an office, house, position, etc) without an incumbent; unoccupied

4. destitute or devoid

   void of resources

5. having no effect; useless

   all his efforts were rendered void

6. (of a card suit or player) having no cards in a particular suit

   his spades were void

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noun

1. an empty space or area

   the huge desert voids of Asia

2. a feeling or condition of loneliness or deprivation

   his divorce left him in a void

3. a lack of any cards in one suit

   to have a void in spades

4. Also called: counter.  the inside area of a character of type, such as the inside of an o

verb

1. to make ineffective or invalid

2. to empty (contents, etc) or make empty of contents

3. (also intr) to discharge the contents of (the bowels or urinary bladder)

4. archaic  to vacate (a place, room, etc)

5. obsolete  to expel

void Idioms  

1. see null and void.

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Related Words

See empty.

Other Word Forms

• nonvoid adjective
• prevoid verb (used with object)
• unvoid adjective
• unvoidness noun
• voider noun
• voidness noun

Etymology

Origin of void

First recorded in 1250–1300; (adjective) Middle English voide, from Anglo-French, Old French voide, voit, vuide, vuit ( French vide ), from unattested Vulgar Latin vocīta, vocita feminine of vocītus, vocitus unattested and dissimilated variant of Latin vacīvus, vocīvus, “empty”; vacuum; (verb) Middle English voiden, from Anglo-French voider, Old French, from unattested Vulgar Latin vocitāre, derivative of unattested vocītus, vocitus; (noun) derivative of the adjective

Example Sentences

Prasad said the agency would no longer rely on certain study results to approve vaccines for pregnant women, saying “prior promises will be null and void.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Now the player who was supposed to help fill the void left by Doncic has been included in trade rumors.

From Los Angeles Times

“There’s an urgency for California to fill a void,” Rosenbaum said.

From Los Angeles Times

False information, some apparently generated with artificial intelligence, filled the void online.

From The Wall Street Journal

Over the past decade, there has been a void among leading brands showcasing men expressing their masculinity in ways that feel safe and inspiring.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• abrogate
• annul
• dissolve
• invalidate
• rescind
• vacate