nothing

[nuhth-ing]

noun

1. no thing; not anything; naught.

   to say nothing.

2. no part, share, or trace (usually followed byof ).

   The house showed nothing of its former magnificence.

3. something that is nonexistent.

4. nonexistence; nothingness.

   The sound faded to nothing.

5. something of no importance or significance.

   Wealth is nothing if you're not healthy enough to enjoy it.

6. a trivial action, matter, circumstance, thing, or remark.

   to exchange a few nothings when being introduced.

7. a person of little or no importance; a nobody.

8. something that is without quantity or magnitude.

9. a cipher or naught.

   Nothing from nine leaves nine.

10. (used in conventional responses to expressions of thanks).

    Think nothing of it. It's nothing. Nothing to it.

adverb

1. in no respect or degree; not at all.

   It was nothing like that. Nothing dismayed, he repeated his question.

adjective

1. amounting to nothing, as in offering no prospects for satisfaction, advancement, or the like.

   She was stuck in a nothing job.

nothing

/ ˈnʌθɪŋ /

pronoun

1. (indefinite) no thing; not anything, as of an implied or specified class of things

   I can give you nothing

2. no part or share

   to have nothing to do with this crime

3. a matter of no importance or significance

   it doesn't matter, it's nothing

4. indicating the absence of anything perceptible; nothingness

5. indicating the absence of meaning, value, worth, etc

   to amount to nothing

6. zero quantity; nought

7. 1. not to concern or be significant to (someone)

   2. to be not nearly as good as

8. to have no connection with

9. 1. to have no engagements to keep

   2. to be undressed or naked

   3. informal,  to compare unfavourably with

10. informal,  in almost no time; very quickly or soon

11. not something other than; only

12. informal,  an expression of dismissal, disapproval, lack of compliance with a request, etc

13. at the very least; certainly

14. downright; truly

15. there's no choice; there's no other course

16. a general expression of praise

    there's nothing like a good cup of tea

17. it is very simple, easy, etc

18. 1. to regard as routine, easy, or natural

    2. to have no compunction or hesitation about

    3. to have a very low opinion of

19. as well as; even disregarding

    he was warmly dressed in a shirt and heavy jumper, to say nothing of his thick overcoat

20. to be prepared to do anything; be unscrupulous or ruthless

adverb

1. in no way; not at all

   he looked nothing like his brother

noun

1. informal,  a person or thing of no importance or significance

2. words of endearment or affection

Usage

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of nothing¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English nānthing, nathing; no ², thing ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of nothing¹

Old English nāthing, nān thing, from nān _none ¹ + _thing ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in nothing flat, in very little time.

   Dinner was finished in nothing flat.

2. nothing doing,

   1. Informal. emphatically no; certainly not.

   2. no activity, inducement, advantage, etc., present to the eye.

      We drove through the town but there seemed to be nothing doing.

3. think nothing of,

   1. to treat casually.

   2. to regard as insignificant.

      He thinks nothing of lying to conceal his incompetence.

4. make nothing of,

   1. to treat lightly; regard as easy.

   2. to be unsuccessful in comprehending.

      He could make nothing of the complicated directions.

5. nothing less than / short of, absolutely; completely.

   She was used to nothing less than the best.

6. nothing but, nothing other than; only.

   We could see nothing but fog.

7. for nothing,

   1. free of charge.

   2. for no apparent reason or motive.

   3. futilely; to no avail.

      They had gone to a great deal of expense for nothing.

More idioms and phrases containing nothing

• 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

Example Sentences

Government shutdowns are nothing new, but as a health policy expert, I worry this time around the impasse may have far-reaching effects on health care.

From Salon

"But he's not, he's dead - and I refuse to let him die for nothing."

From BBC

The BBC identified one company called Bespoke Strategy Solutions based in Dubai but the founder of this company told us she had nothing to do with Mr King and had no links to the UK.

From BBC

"There's nothing to negotiate. Just reopen the government," she said.

From BBC

Companies deciding to charge users for a service that was previously free is nothing new, and millions pay for services like iCloud and Google Drive to backup their photos and videos from their smartphone.

From BBC

Related Words

• nobody