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• Much Ado About Nothing
  Much Ado About Nothing

  noun

  a comedy (1598?) by Shakespeare.
• much ado about nothing
  much ado about nothing

  A big fuss over a trifle, as in Jerry had everyone running around looking for his gloves—much ado about nothing. Although this expression is best remembered as the title of Shakespeare's comedy, the phrase much ado was already being used for a big commotion or trouble in the early 1500s.

Much Ado About Nothing

American  

noun

1. a comedy (1598?) by Shakespeare.

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much ado about nothing Idioms  

1. A big fuss over a trifle, as in Jerry had everyone running around looking for his gloves—much ado about nothing. Although this expression is best remembered as the title of Shakespeare's comedy, the phrase much ado was already being used for a big commotion or trouble in the early 1500s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Much Ado About Nothing much ado about nothing

Washington, who last performed Shakespeare on screen in 1993's "Much Ado About Nothing," is superb in the title role, playing up Macbeth's fears while also making his madness credible.

From Salon ● Dec. 25, 2021

The pair’s spiky relationship has earned comparisons to Benedick and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 2, 2018

What compels our amorous complicity is the genre of romantic comedy, which even at several levels below "Much Ado About Nothing" and "As You Like It" manages to win our favor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2018

Over the next four years, he would write, produce, and act in a half-dozen stone masterpieces: Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, and Hamlet.

From Slate ● Nov. 7, 2016

And it didn’t count Much Ado About Nothing, which should have counted for the whole shebang, since it advertised itself as a comedy—but let me tell you, it wasn’t.

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt

For U.S. shoppers hoping for relief, however, it’s looking like much ado about nothing.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 24, 2025

Inside the park, however, as the March on the DNC rally was underway, it began to feel like it was all much ado about nothing.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2024

Former England international John Barnes described the controversy about the colours on the St George's Cross as "much ado about nothing".

From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2024

Since it’s just July 30 and the Seahawks don’t play a regular-season game until Sept. 10, any concern over the injuries might be much ado about nothing.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 30, 2023

For instance, Raoul’s much ado about nothing comes by way of his father, a failed Shakespearean actor who gave up the dream and started a theater camp for underprivileged children.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman