nothing

[ nuhth-ing ]

/ ˈnʌθ ɪŋ /

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See synonyms for: nothing / nothings on Thesaurus.com

noun

no thing; not anything; naught: to say nothing.

no part, share, or trace (usually followed by of): The house showed nothing of its former magnificence.

something that is nonexistent.

nonexistence; nothingness: The sound faded to nothing.

something of no importance or significance: Wealth is nothing if you're not healthy enough to enjoy it.

a trivial action, matter, circumstance, thing, or remark: to exchange a few nothings when being introduced.

a person of little or no importance; a nobody.

something that is without quantity or magnitude.

a cipher or naught: Nothing from nine leaves nine.

(used in conventional responses to expressions of thanks): Think nothing of it. It's nothing. Nothing to it.

adverb

in no respect or degree; not at all: It was nothing like that. Nothing dismayed, he repeated his question.

adjective

amounting to nothing, as in offering no prospects for satisfaction, advancement, or the like: She was stuck in a nothing job.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about nothing

for nothing,

free of charge.
for no apparent reason or motive.
futilely; to no avail: They had gone to a great deal of expense for nothing.

in nothing flat, in very little time: Dinner was finished in nothing flat.

make nothing of,

to treat lightly; regard as easy.
to be unsuccessful in comprehending: He could make nothing of the complicated directions.

nothing but, nothing other than; only: We could see nothing but fog.

nothing doing,

Informal. emphatically no; certainly not.
no activity, inducement, advantage, etc., present to the eye: We drove through the town but there seemed to be nothing doing.

nothing less than / short of, absolutely; completely: She was used to nothing less than the best.

think nothing of,

to treat casually.
to regard as insignificant: He thinks nothing of lying to conceal his incompetence.

Origin of nothing

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English nānthing, nathing; see no², thing¹

Words nearby nothing

not have it, not have one's heart in it, not have the heart to, not having any, nother, nothing, nothingburger, nothing but, nothing doing, nothing if not, nothing like

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use nothing in a sentence

In the meantime, he should just accept that the holdup has nothing to do with his politics.
Conservative Curt Says His Politics, Not His Pitching, Kept Him Out of the Hall of Fame|Ben Jacobs|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The decision not to run the cartoons is motivated by nothing more than fear: either fear of offending or fear of retaliation.
Why We Stand With Charlie Hebdo—And You Should Too|John Avlon|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It has nothing to do with the regulatory job he is nominated for.
Sen. Warren’s Main Street Crusade to Pressure Clinton|Eleanor Clift|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“There is a heavy security presence but nothing has changed,” agrees Father Javier.
Mexico’s Priests Are Marked for Murder|Jason McGahan|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Nothing made Groucho funnier than having this Margaret Dumont around not understanding the jokes.
Patton Oswalt on Fighting Conservatives With Satire|William O’Connor|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The vision—it had been an instantaneous flash after all and nothing more—had left his mind completely for the time.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
We should have to admit that the new law does little or nothing to relieve such a situation.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
Nothing remarkable occurred in our march through this country.
The Life and Most Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner (1801)|Daniel Defoe
It was very warm, and for a while they did nothing but exchange remarks about the heat, the sun, the glare.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
"There is no more war," Brion translated for Ulv, realizing that the Disan had understood nothing of the explanation.
Sense of Obligation|Henry Maxwell Dempsey (AKA Harry Harrison)

British Dictionary definitions for nothing

nothing

/ (ˈnʌθɪŋ) /

pronoun

(indefinite) no thing; not anything, as of an implied or specified class of thingsI can give you nothing

no part or shareto have nothing to do with this crime

a matter of no importance or significanceit doesn't matter, it's nothing

indicating the absence of anything perceptible; nothingness

indicating the absence of meaning, value, worth, etcto amount to nothing

zero quantity; nought

be nothing to

not to concern or be significant to (someone)
to be not nearly as good as

have nothing to do with or be nothing to do with to have no connection with

have nothing on or have got nothing on

to have no engagements to keep
to be undressed or naked
informal to compare unfavourably with

in nothing flat informal in almost no time; very quickly or soon

nothing but not something other than; only

nothing doing informal an expression of dismissal, disapproval, lack of compliance with a request, etc

nothing if not at the very least; certainly

nothing less than or nothing short of downright; truly

there's nothing for it there's no choice; there's no other course

there's nothing like a general expression of praisethere's nothing like a good cup of tea

there's nothing to it it is very simple, easy, etc

think nothing of

to regard as routine, easy, or natural
to have no compunction or hesitation about
to have a very low opinion of

to say nothing of as well as; even disregardinghe was warmly dressed in a shirt and heavy jumper, to say nothing of his thick overcoat

stop at nothing to be prepared to do anything; be unscrupulous or ruthless

adverb

in no way; not at allhe looked nothing like his brother

noun

informal a person or thing of no importance or significance

sweet nothings words of endearment or affection

Word Origin for nothing

Old English nāthing, nān thing, from nān none 1 + thing 1

usage for nothing

Nothing normally takes a singular verb, but when nothing but is followed by a plural form of a noun, a plural verb is usually used: it was a large room where nothing but souvenirs were sold

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with nothing

nothing

In addition to the idioms beginning with nothing

nothing but
nothing doing
nothing if not
nothing like
nothing new under the sun
nothing of the kind
nothing short of
nothing to do with
nothing to it, there's
nothing to sneeze at
nothing to speak of
nothing to write home about
nothing ventured, nothing gained

also see:

come to nothing
count for (nothing)
go for nothing
have nothing on
have nothing to do with
here goes (nothing)
in no time (nothing flat)
leave a lot (nothing) to be desired
make nothing of
make something of (nothing)
much ado about nothing
not know beans (from nothing)
not to mention (say nothing of)
stop at nothing
sweet nothings
think nothing of
want for nothing

nothing

Idioms about nothing

Origin of nothing

Words nearby nothing

Words related to nothing

How to use nothing in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for nothing

Word Origin for nothing

usage for nothing

Other Idioms and Phrases with nothing