naught

or nought

[ nawt ]

noun

1. nothing.
2. a cipher (0); zero.

adjective

1. lost; ruined.
2. Archaic. worthless; useless.
3. Obsolete. morally bad; wicked.

adverb

1. Obsolete. not.

naught

/ nɔːt /

noun

1. archaic.
   nothing or nothingness; ruin or failure
2. See nought
   a variant spelling (esp US) of nought
3. set at naught
   set at naught to have disregard or scorn for; disdain

adverb

1. archaic.
   not at all

   it matters naught

adjective

1. obsolete.
   worthless, ruined, or wicked

Word History and Origins

Origin of naught¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English nauht, nāwiht ( nā no ¹ + wiht thing). See nought, wight ¹, whit

Word History and Origins

Origin of naught¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. come to naught, to come to nothing; be without result or fruition; fail.
2. set at naught, to regard or treat as of no importance; disdain:

   He entered a milieu that set his ideals at naught.

More idioms and phrases containing naught

see come to nothing (naught) .

Example Sentences

If the revelation fails to move you then all that came before it was for naught.

From Washington Post

It’s all or nothing for the House, and it’s not entirely clear the Senate can get Phase Two to the south side of the Capitol, meaning the whole $4 trillion spending dream could be for naught.

From Time

On set againAll the original programming activity would be for naught without the means of production.

From Digiday

I try to devise backup plans based on unknowable factors—whether young children will be vaccinated by then, whether it will rain that weekend, forcing us to move certain festivities inside—and I wonder if it will all be for naught.

From Time

Russell Westbrook, who did not speak with reporters after the game, logged his fourth triple-double of the season for naught, scoring 22 points with 11 assists and 10 rebounds.

From Washington Post

According to Farmaner, the reforms of 2011 have largely come to naught.

From The Daily Beast

But moments later there was a twist, and with it the fear that the prayers had been for naught.

From The Daily Beast

Venus' Epic Fight, for Naught Long gone are the days when Venus Williams dominated tennis, but she sure still gives it her all.

From The Daily Beast

Hoping that his hi-tech marketing wiles will not go for naught, Bennett will now try to torpedo the prize ceremony.

From The Daily Beast

In the end, all the praise and support from the international community was for naught.

From The Daily Beast

At last he had found permanence in a life where heretofore had been naught but transience.

From Project Gutenberg

There are poets and writers who see naught in war but carrion, filth, savagery and horror.

From Project Gutenberg

Letty has just had another baby, and her dairy-maid got married and left at this busy time, and I'm sick and good for naught.

From Project Gutenberg

From that day my affairs have gone from bad to worse, and I have naught in the wide world but the clothes I stand up in.

From Project Gutenberg

Though they prayed thus, yet once again they found that the "prayer of the wicked availeth naught."

From Project Gutenberg