aught

pronoun \ ˈȯt , ˈät \

Updated on: 22 Apr 2018

Definition of aught

1 : anything

2 : all, everything

for aught I care

for aught we know

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aught was our Word of the Day on 08/08/2012. Hear the podcast!

Origin and Etymology of aught

Middle English, from Old English āwiht, from ā ever + wiht creature, thing — more at aye, wight

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

aught

adverb

Definition of aught

archaic

: at all

Origin and Etymology of aught

see ¹aught

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

aught

noun

Definition of aught

1 : zero, cipher

2 archaic : nonentity, nothing

3 aughts plural : the ten year period from 2000 through 2009

By the middle of the aughts, … the percentage of 26-year-olds living with their parents reached 20 percent, nearly double what it was in 1970.
—Don Peck

Examples of aught in a Sentence

for dates, the year is automatically listed as a pair of aughts, so the user has to scroll down to the correct figure

Recent Examples of aught from the Web

Unfortunately, with its potential to stay on surfaces for days or weeks, norovirus can also be more committed to survival than early aughts Destiny’s Child.

— zahra barnes, SELF, "Wearing Shoes Indoors: How Many Germs Are We Talking, Exactly?," 10 Apr. 2018
While Morgan Park, Orr and Whitney Young are constantly battling it out, Simeon has had a complete stranglehold over the high school basketball scene in the mid-to-late aughts.

— charlotte carroll, SI.com, "A Look Back at the Best High School Basketball Programs in History," 8 Mar. 2018
Anyone who picked up a tabloid in the aughts knows that oversize sunglasses were once the great staple accessory in celebrity fashion—for reality stars, especially.

— halie lesavage, Glamour, "Kanye West Sent Kim Kardashian an Email Asking Her to Stop Wearing Big Sunglasses," 9 Jan. 2018
Throughout the aughts, Chinese continued to show up in Tuscany.

— keith gessen, The New Yorker, "The Chinese Workers Who Assemble Designer Bags in Tuscany," 20 Feb. 2017
The hip-hop sets generated bigger crowds and more fervor, but they were also dappled with nostalgia for WAY back in the earlier aughts: Ying Yang Twins, T-Pain.

— andrew dansby, Houston Chronicle, "Final thoughts on Houston's In Bloom festival," 26 Mar. 2018
Chunky highlights had a time and place in hair history — and that place is the early aughts.

— devon abelman, Allure, "This Hairstylist Transformed Her Client's Chunky Highlights Into Stunning Platinum Blonde in 4 Hours," 7 Mar. 2018
The Capeside bubble of Dawson’s Creek helped shape the culture of TV in the late ‘90s and early aughts.

— ilana kaplan, Billboard, "'Dawson's Creek' Turns 20: Insiders Share Stories Behind the Music, Plot Choices & More," 20 Jan. 2018
Colorado was Detroit’s contemporary in the late 90s and early aughts.

— helene st. james, Detroit Free Press, "Red Wings mailbag: Ken Holland, re-signing young stars and more," 11 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'aught.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.