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• nil
  nil

  noun

  nothing; naught; zero.
• NIL
  NIL

  abbreviation

  name, image, likeness: aspects of a collegiate athlete’s identity for which they may earn money from a third party, as for advertising sponsorship or merchandise sales, although they are prohibited from being paid directly by colleges and universities for their participation in intercollegiate sports.

nil

¹ American  

[nil] / nɪl /

noun

1. nothing; naught; zero.

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adjective

1. having no value or existence.

   His credit rating is nil.

NIL ² American  

abbreviation

1. name, image, likeness: aspects of a collegiate athlete’s identity for which they may earn money from a third party, as for advertising sponsorship or merchandise sales, although they are prohibited from being paid directly by colleges and universities for their participation in intercollegiate sports.

   Student-athletes should report NIL activities consistent with state law or school and conference requirements to their school.

   The NCAA decision about NIL has forever changed college football, allowing players to make money for the first time.

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nil British  

/ nɪl /

noun

1. another word for nothing: used esp in the scoring of certain games

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Etymology

Origin of nil¹

First recorded in 1805–15; from Latin nīl, variant of nīlum, contraction of nihilum “nothing,” equivalent to ne- “not” + hīlum “trifle”

Origin of NIL²

First recorded in 2021; by abbreviation

Explanation

Use the word nil to mean "zero," especially when you're talking about scores in a sporting event: "the final score was twelve-nil." Saying nil instead of zero or nothing is much more common in Britain than in the United States. In the U.S. you might hear a tennis score include the word nil, while in the U.K. it's a common term for cricket and football scores as well. There's also a common British medical usage, "nil by mouth," a doctor's instruction not to eat or drink before surgery. Nil is a contraction of the Latin word for "nothing," nihil.

Example Sentences

"Nil is a form of compensation," Macpherson added, while ruling it out for farms.

From BBC • Jun. 1, 2025

The verdict read aloud in the courtroom by Judge Nil Nonn established that the Khmer Rouge committed genocide against the Vietnamese and Cham minorities.

From Fox News • Nov. 16, 2018

Anti-sectarian charity Nil by Mouth said the decision was "correct and responsible".

From BBC • Aug. 23, 2018

“Then I saw the play and it was staggeringly beautiful,” he recalled, sipping black tea at Nil, an Egyptian cafe in this city’s trendy seventh district, soon after the opening.

From New York Times • Jun. 15, 2018

The experience of true, passionate love that had been snatched away from me just when it had been in my grasp— Nil satis nisi optimum, interrupted my father’s voice, booming inside my head.

From "Confessions of a Murder Suspect" by James Patterson