aught

¹

or ought

[ awt ]

noun

1. anything whatever; any part:

   for aught I know.

adverb

1. Archaic. in any degree; at all; in any respect.

aught

²

or ought

[ awt ]

noun

1. a cipher (0); zero.
2. aughts, the first decade of any century, especially the years 1900 through 1909 or 2000 through 2009.

aught

³

[ awkht ]

verb (used with object)

, Scot.

1. to own; possess.
2. to owe (someone or something); be obligated to.

adjective

, Scot.

1. possessed of.

noun

1. Archaic.
   1. ownership; possession.
   2. property; a possession.

aught

⁴

[ awkht ]

adjective

, Scot.

1. eight.
2. eighth.

aught

¹

/ ɔːt /

noun

1. a less common word for nought

aught

²

/ ɔːt /

pronoun

1. anything at all; anything whatever (esp in the phrase for aught I know )

adverb

1. dialect.
   in any least part; to any degree

Word History and Origins

Origin of aught¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English aught, ought, Old English āht, āwiht, ōwiht, equivalent to ā, ō “ever” + wiht “thing”; wight ¹

Origin of aught²

First recorded in 1820–25; from a naught, taken as an aught ( auger ). See naught

Origin of aught³

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English æht; cognate with Old High German ēht, Gothic aihts; akin to owe, own

Origin of aught⁴

First recorded in 1100–50; Middle English aghte, aughte, variant of eighte; eight

Word History and Origins

Origin of aught¹

Old English āwiht, from ā ever, ay ¹+ wiht thing; see wight ¹

Example Sentences

By the early aughts an older, wiser Dolours is disillusioned with the meaninglessness of so much bloodshed and pondering what it means to have so many spent matches poking her from inside her pockets.

From Salon

In the late aughts, Gerda noticed that news organizations in Southern California were laying off reporters who “were keeping an eye” on local government.

From Los Angeles Times

Times reporter Meg James, who covered Stewart during the early aughts, said in the documentary.

From Salon

After a decade and a half of seeing everything I could of Foreman and the Wooster Group in the 1990s and early aughts, I came to appreciate the essential differences between these two artistic trailblazers.

From Los Angeles Times

The setting was the tumultuous early aughts, after 9/11 set the country reeling and President George W. Bush drummed us into war with Iraq.

From Los Angeles Times