null
null Lexical Profile
null Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Having no legal or binding force; invalid (especially in the phrase 'null and void').
"The judge declared the contract null and void because one of the signatures had been forged."
Associated with or amounting to zero; having no elements, magnitude, or value (in mathematics, science, and computing).
"Because the experimental treatment produced a null result, the researchers could not reject the baseline hypothesis."
Lacking distinctive character, expression, or vitality.
"His face remained completely null and unreadable throughout the tense interrogation."
• noun
A zero value, or a special marker in computing and databases indicating that a data value or memory reference does not exist.
"The database query failed because several required fields contained a null instead of a valid string."
A point or direction in an electromagnetic field or radiation pattern where the detected signal strength or quantity is zero or at a minimum.
"The technician rotated the directional antenna until he located the sharp null in the interference signal."
A dummy letter or meaningless symbol inserted into an encrypted message to confuse cryptanalysts.
"To obscure the true length of the words, the cipher clerk added several nulls at the end of each line."
• verb
To adjust an instrument, circuit, or signal so that a reading or unwanted interference is reduced to zero.
"Before taking the measurement, the engineer nulled the bridge circuit to eliminate background noise."
To make legally invalid or ineffective; to nullify.
"Any attempt to alter the document without mutual consent will null the entire agreement."
Word Nuance & Usage
In everyday and legal usage, 'null' appears almost exclusively in the fixed doublet 'null and void', whereas in mathematics, statistics, and computer science it stands alone with precise technical meanings (such as the 'null hypothesis' or a 'null pointer', which is distinct from the numerical value zero).
• Rhymes for null
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the 16th century from Middle French nul, from Latin nullus ('not any, none'), formed from ne- ('not') and ullus ('any').