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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

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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

See Examples For:

nil NIL

The odds of this forecast coming true are close to nil; employment almost never collapses by that much, and never when output is skyrocketing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

I think the chances of that are basically nil, as the news cycle is already moving on.

From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026

“This means that the probability of switching into a lower-carry, higher-rate regime is probably not nil, and is less easily priced by the market,” Fink added.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026

The water visibility was nil — just a blur of yellow, brown and eventually black.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2025

Will we or nil we, we could do no other than hear.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

He is a great quarterback whisperer and with the NIL money changing the college football landscape every few minutes, it’s only fair to let Riley navigate this changing environment until his contract expires.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026

Comparing today’s college sports environment of NIL deals with the 1980s, Hillman said, “It would have been scary what kind of money we could have gotten.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026

Two years ago, the Wolverines had thrown NIL money at Underwood, the country’s No. 1 high school recruit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

By standardizing NIL regulations, the legislation would allow student athletes to monetize their NIL rights while providing necessary oversight through a mandatory reporting system.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

I am on the track of an adventure,—on the search for a new sensation, having tried nearly all the old ones and found them NIL.

From Ardath by Marie Corelli

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