naught

American  

[nawt] / nɔt /

Or nought

noun

1. nothing.

2. a cipher (0); zero.

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adjective

1. lost; ruined.

2. Archaic. worthless; useless.

3. Obsolete. morally bad; wicked.

adverb

1. Obsolete. not.

idioms

1. come to naught, to come to nothing; be without result or fruition; fail.

2. set at naught, to regard or treat as of no importance; disdain.

   He entered a milieu that set his ideals at naught.

naught British  

/ nɔːt /

noun

1. archaic nothing or nothingness; ruin or failure

2. a variant spelling (esp US) of nought

3. to have disregard or scorn for; disdain

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adverb

1. archaic not at all

   it matters naught

adjective

1. obsolete worthless, ruined, or wicked

naught More Idioms  

1. see come to nothing (naught).

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Etymology

Origin of naught

before 900; Middle English; Old English nauht, nāwiht ( nā no ¹ + wiht thing). See nought, wight ¹, whit

Example Sentences

To add fuel to the barbecue, the deal with Argentina may be all for naught.

From Salon

The prayers are not for naught, Dolly Parton told fans on Wednesday.

From Los Angeles Times

Otherwise, all of the dinosaur danger is for naught.

From Salon

All that brainpower would have been for naught, however, save for the beneficence of Uncle Sam.

From Los Angeles Times

He was naught to know that the Palisades and Eaton fires would go on to burn more than double the urban acreage that Woolsey had.

From Los Angeles Times