naught
Americannoun
-
a cipher (0); zero.
adjective
-
lost; ruined.
-
Archaic. worthless; useless.
-
Obsolete. morally bad; wicked.
adverb
idioms
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come to naught, to come to nothing; be without result or fruition; fail.
-
set at naught, to regard or treat as of no importance; disdain.
He entered a milieu that set his ideals at naught.
noun
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archaic nothing or nothingness; ruin or failure
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a variant spelling (esp US) of nought
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to have disregard or scorn for; disdain
adverb
adjective
Etymology
Origin of naught
before 900; Middle English; Old English nauht, nāwiht ( nā no 1 + wiht thing). See nought, wight 1, whit
Explanation
When things come to naught, they've come to nothing. If you feel bad about ending up with nothing, you can also say "It was all for naught!" Have you ever put a lot of work into something and all you ended up with was nada, nil, nothing, zero, zilch, and zip? Then your efforts came to naught. Naught is a word for nothing that is used in specific ways, usually when a project or effort comes to naught.
Vocabulary lists containing naught
100 SAT Words Beginning with "N"
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Beowulf vocabulary
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"The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet," Vocabulary from Act 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I learned from a successful mentor that you can get a lot of things right, but if you don’t get the major trend right, it’s for naught.
From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026
Some in the Iranian capital feared the ceasefire will come to naught, but others declared victory and most breathed a sigh of relief after weeks of bombardment.
From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026
And even though these characters deserved far better than the screenplay their era would allow, it doesn’t mean their impact is for naught.
From Salon • Feb. 28, 2026
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 • Jan. 22, 2025
Only fifty seemed to have turned up, not the eighty Toregg promised Leathers, but Tormund was not called Tall-Talker for naught.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
