nought
Americannoun
noun
noun
Usage
What does nought mean? Nought means nothing or none, as in All of my efforts at winning the game were for nought because I lost badly. Nought also refers to zero. For example, if your math class is in Room One-Nought-Seven, it is in Room 107. The informal term noughties for the decade of 2000–2009 comes from this sense. Nought is an alternate spelling of naught, which has the exact same meaning. Example: I had nought to do with breaking the lamp, but my mother still thought I was involved.
Etymology
Origin of nought
before 900; Middle English; Old English nōht, contraction of nōwiht, equivalent to ne not + ōwiht aught 1
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.
History has taught you that pouring out your time, energy and emotions will similarly come to nought.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 3, 2026
They dropped or missed five clear chances overall, the most costly being wicketkeeper Jamie Smith's drop of Head on three and Ben Duckett shelling Alex Carey on nought.
From BBC • Dec. 20, 2025
On nought not out at the end of the second day of the third Test against Pakistan at The Oval, Cook was convinced he was playing his last Test innings before being dropped.
From BBC • Nov. 28, 2025
The veteran strike weapon delivered as he has so many times before, enticing a thick edge from Zak Crawley that Usman Khawaja did well to collect down low at slip, the opener gone for nought.
From Barron's • Nov. 21, 2025
It’s a shock to everyone when he says, the Battle of Kinsale in sixteen nought one was the saddest moment in Irish history, a close battle with cruelty and atrocities on both sides.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
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.
