nought

[ nawt ]
/ nɔt /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR nought ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, adjective, adverb

naught.

QUIZZES

CHALLENGE YOURSELF WITH THESE WORDS FROM "LITTLE WOMEN"

"Little Women" may be a classic, but that doesn't mean we all know the meanings of the vocab words from the book. Can you define these words correctly and make Jo proud?
Question 1 of 10
earnest
full seriousness, as of intention or purpose.
a feeling of dread, anxiety, or anguish.
urgent character; imperativeness; insistence; importunateness.
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Origin of nought

before 900; Middle English; Old English nōht, contraction of nōwiht, equivalent to ne not + ōwiht aught1

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH nought

naught nought

Words nearby nought

notwithstanding, nouadhibou, nouakchott, nougat, nougatine, nought, noughties, noughts and crosses, noughts-and-crosses, noumenal, noumenon

Definition for nought (2 of 2)

naught

or nought

[ nawt ]
/ nɔt /

noun

nothing.
a cipher (0); zero.

adjective

lost; ruined.
Archaic. worthless; useless.
Obsolete. morally bad; wicked.

adverb

Obsolete. not.

Origin of naught

before 900; Middle English; Old English nauht, nāwiht (nā no1 + wiht thing). See nought, wight1, whit

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH naught

naught nought
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to nought

nil, nobody, nonentity, none, nix, zero, nothing, naught, nihil, love, aught, nadir, zip, bottom, scratch, oblivion, cipher, zilch, blank, void

Example sentences from the Web for nought

British Dictionary definitions for nought (1 of 2)

nought
/ (nɔːt) /

noun Also: naught, ought, aught

the digit 0; zero: used esp in counting or numbering

noun, adjective, adverb

a variant spelling of naught

Word Origin for nought

Old English nōwiht, from ne not, no + ōwiht something; see whit

British Dictionary definitions for nought (2 of 2)

naught
/ (nɔːt) /

noun

archaic, or literary nothing or nothingness; ruin or failure
a variant spelling (esp US) of nought
set at naught to have disregard or scorn for; disdain

adverb

archaic, or literary not at allit matters naught

adjective

obsolete worthless, ruined, or wicked

Word Origin for naught

Old English nāwiht, from nā no 1 + wiht thing, person; see wight 1, whit
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

Idioms and Phrases with nought

naught

see come to nothing (naught).

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.