naught
naught Lexical Profile
naught Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Complete failure, ruin, or lack of result; the state of amounting to nothing (used primarily in fixed expressions such as 'for naught' or 'come to naught').
"Years of careful diplomatic negotiation were all for naught when the treaty was abruptly rejected."
The numerical digit or symbol 0; zero or cipher.
"The clerk accidentally omitted a naught at the end of the figure, drastically reducing the recorded sum."
• pronoun
Nothing; not anything (mostly literary or archaic).
"The weary travelers found naught but barren rock and dust across the vast plateau."
Word Nuance & Usage
In American English, "naught" is the preferred spelling for all senses (especially in idioms like "all for naught"), whereas British English typically uses "nought" for the number zero and reserves "naught" for poetic or archaic senses meaning "nothing".
• Rhymes for naught
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English nāwiht ('nothing'), a compound of nā ('no') and wiht ('thing, creature, or being', which also gave rise to the modern word 'wight').