naught

American  

[nawt] / nɔt /

Or nought

noun

1. nothing.

2. a cipher (0); zero.

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adjective

1. lost; ruined.

2. Archaic. worthless; useless.

3. Obsolete. morally bad; wicked.

adverb

1. Obsolete. not.

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.

naught British  

/ nɔːt /

noun

1. archaic nothing or nothingness; ruin or failure

2. a variant spelling (esp US) of nought

3. to have disregard or scorn for; disdain

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adverb

1. archaic not at all

   it matters naught

adjective

1. obsolete worthless, ruined, or wicked

naught More Idioms  

1. see come to nothing (naught).

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Etymology

Origin of naught

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

Example Sentences

Otherwise, all of the dinosaur danger is for naught.

From Salon • Jul. 3, 2025

All for naught, save a lot of speculation about what Newsom was really up to.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 27, 2024

And will it be all for naught if they later attend different high schools?

From New York Times • Jun. 3, 2024

In Michigan those have come to naught, as Kennedy recently gained ballot access after being nominated by the tiny Natural Law Party.

From BBC • Apr. 27, 2024

Naught to make a fire with, for a start; and naught to cook, not even grass!’

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien