naught

English

Alternative forms

• nought

Etymology

From the Middle English naught, nought, naht, nawiht, from Old English nawiht, "no whit".

Pronunciation

• (RP): enPR: nôt, IPA: /nɔːt/, X-SAMPA: /nO:t/
• (US): enPR: nôt, IPA: /nɔt/, X-SAMPA: /nOt/
• (cot–caught merger): enPR: nät, IPA: /nɑt/, X-SAMPA: /nAt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

  Rhymes: -ɔːt

• Homophone: not (in accents with the cot-caught merger), knot (in accents with the cot-caught merger)

Noun

naught (uncountable)

1. (UK, Ireland, New Zealand) (now rare or archaic in US, Canada) Zero.

   Yet another naught on the scoreboard for the home team.

2. (UK, Ireland, New Zealand) (now rare or archaic in US, Canada) Nothing; nothingness.

   Naught can come of this, you mark my words.

Translations

zero

• Czech: nula (cs) f
• German: Null (de) f

• Mandarin: ling (cmn) (零)
• Russian: ноль (ru) (nolʹ) m

nothingness

• Czech: nicota (cs) f
• German: Nichts (de) n

• Mandarin: wu (cmn) (无)
• Russian: ничто (ru) (ničto) n

Pronoun

naught

1. nothing

Translations

nothing

• German: nichts (de)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: null (nb) m

• Spanish: nada (es)

See also

• aught
• naw
• negative
• no
• noot
• not
• nought
• nowt
• ought
• zip

References

• naught in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913