nothing — English Dictionary

Pronoun

1. Not any thing; no thing.

   Usage

   • indefinite
   • pronoun

   Examples

   Don't just say nothing. Tell me what's going on.

   Nothing bad will happen, will it?

   More examples (9)

   There remains nothing more to be done.

   See? there’s nothing!

   Feels like I'm wearing nothing at all! Nothing at all! Nothing at all!

   Wage earners that resemble nothing so much as former southern slaves.

   Not only is nothing wrong, but there all kinds of ways things might get even better.

   the players see little or nothing of their cards at first starting

   A ceremony at which two persons undertake to become one, one undertakes to become nothing, and nothing undertakes to become supportable.

   Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare. Mr. Gordon Burnage, for instance, personally visited dust-bins and back premises, accompanied by a sort of village bailiff, going his round like a commanding officer doing billets.

   Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting.

2. An absence of anything, including empty space, brightness, darkness, matter, or a vacuum.

   Usage

   • indefinite
   • pronoun

Noun

1. Something trifling, or of no consequence or importance.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   - What happened to your face? - It's nothing.

   Sermons are not like curious inquiries after new nothings, but pursuances of old truths.

   More examples (1)

   Knuckles: The Egg Carrier is nothing compared to this!

2. A trivial remark especially in the term sweet nothings.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

3. A nobody (insignificant person).

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

Adverb

1. Not at all; in no way.

   Usage

   • Archaic
   • not-comparable

   Examples

   Nothing too much out of the ordinary.

   Nothing dismayed, I repeated my query.

   More examples (2)

   The answer was an impatient one—but, nothing daunted, he continued.

   The Motion from London to Syria is as much as nothing; and nothing altereth the relation which is between them.

Adjective

1. Completely unimportant.

   Usage

   • not-comparable

   Examples

   Dallas scored on what had seemed until then like a nothing play.

2. Lacking effort or commitment.

   Usage

   • not-comparable

   Examples

   The cricketer played a nothing shot.

Interjection

1. Never mind; it's not important; forget what I said.

Noun

1. a quantity of no importance; thing (object:), singular, negative pronoun; pronoun, thing, singular; quantifier: negative existential

   Synonyms

   nilnixnadanullaughtciphercyphergoose eggnaughtzerozilchzipzippo

   Broader terms

   relative quantity

   Examples

   it looked like nothing I had ever seen before

   reduced to nil all the work we had done

   More examples (3)

   we racked up a pathetic goose egg

   it was all for naught

   I didn't hear zilch about it

Adverb

1. in no respect; to no degree

   Examples

   he looks nothing like his father