nothing
nothing Lexical Profile
nothing Game Scores & Validity
• pronoun
Not anything; no single thing.
"There was nothing left in the refrigerator after the weekend party."
Something of no importance, value, concern, or interest.
"Please do not worry about the minor delay; it is really nothing."
• adverb
Not at all; in no way or to no degree.
"The twins look nothing like their older brother."
• noun
A state of nonexistence, emptiness, or complete absence of anything.
"The ancient myth describes how the universe was created out of nothing."
Zero in quantity, numerical value, or score.
"Our team won the championship game by a score of three to nothing."
A person, matter, or remark of no importance, value, or significance (often used in the plural for trivial, affectionate remarks).
"The young couple sat on the park bench whispering sweet nothings to each other."
• adjective
Having no value, importance, or significance; trivial or worthless (used informally before a noun).
"The match ended in a dull, nothing draw that disappointed the spectators."
Word Nuance & Usage
As an indefinite pronoun, 'nothing' takes a singular verb and is modified by adjectives placed after it rather than before it (e.g., 'nothing important' rather than 'important nothing'). In standard English, it should not be used with a negative verb ('I know nothing' or 'I do not know anything', avoiding the double negative 'I don't know nothing').
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from Old English 'nān þing', literally meaning 'no thing', formed from 'nān' (none, not one) and 'þing' (thing, entity).