aught

¹ American  

[awt] / ɔt /

Or ought

noun

1. anything whatever; any part.

   for aught I know.

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adverb

1. Archaic. in any degree; at all; in any respect.

aught ² American  

[awt] / ɔt /

Or ought

noun

1. a cipher (0); zero.

2. aughts, the first decade of any century, especially the years 1900 through 1909 or 2000 through 2009.

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aught ³ American  

[awkht] / ɔxt /

verb (used with object)

Scot.

1. to own; possess.

2. to owe (someone or something); be obligated to.

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adjective

Scot.

1. possessed of.

noun

1. Archaic.

   1. ownership; possession.

   2. property; a possession.

aught ⁴ American  

[awkht] / ɔxt /

adjective

Scot.

1. eight.

2. eighth.

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aught ¹ British  

/ ɔːt /

pronoun

1. anything at all; anything whatever (esp in the phrase for aught I know )

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adverb

1. dialect in any least part; to any degree

aught ² British  

/ ɔːt /

noun

1. a less common word for nought

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Etymology

Origin of aught¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English aught, ought, Old English āht, āwiht, ōwiht, equivalent to ā, ō “ever” + wiht “thing”; wight ¹

Origin of aught²

First recorded in 1820–25; from a naught, taken as an aught ( auger ). See naught

Origin of aught³

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English æht; cognate with Old High German ēht, Gothic aihts; akin to owe, own

Origin of aught⁴

First recorded in 1100–50; Middle English aghte, aughte, variant of eighte; eight

Explanation

Aught, not to be confused with the helping verb "ought," is a word you'll hear most often in the U.K., where, in a very confusing manner, it can mean either everything or — wait for it — nothing at all. Without getting too existential about things, it does seem kind of mind-blowing that a single word can stand in for the totality of the universe and the complete absence of matter, all at the same time. But the reason for the duality owes nothing to cosmic synchronicity. Rather, it came about through human error, as "an aught" sounds very much like "a nought," or "a zero." So no deep truth here, just another wrinkle in our linguistic evolution!

Example Sentences

Ekeler had a 22-yard TD run and c aught a 12-yard pass from Herbert.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 9, 2022

"Further, for aught yet seen the Scottish Ministers may still make a UWO application in relation to President Trump's Scottish assets."

From Salon • Dec. 28, 2021

Give up your resolution; do not destroy us all together; for none of us will speak openly against men again if you suffer aught.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2019

But, in the early aught years, the F.B.I.—which was struggling to regroup from having allowed the 9/11 hijackers to enter the country—was looking back through old immigration cases.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 28, 2015

We ran by Gibraltar wi’oot bein’ able to signal; an’ till we came to the Dardanelles and had to wait to get our permit to pass, we never were within hail o’ aught.

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker