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If you know aught which does behove my knowledge / Thereof to be inform'd, imprison't not / In ignorant concealment, Polixenes begs Camillo in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, employing the "anything" sense of "aught." Shakespeare didn't coin the pronoun "aught," which has been a part of the English language since before the 12th century, but he did put it to frequent use. Writers today may be less likely to use "aught" than were their literary predecessors, but the pronoun does continue to turn up occasionally. "Aught" can also be a noun meaning "zero," and for a while the phrase "the aughts" was bandied about as a proposed label for the decade that began in the year 2000.
First Known Use: before 12th century
in the meaning defined at sense 1
See Words from the same year
First Known Use: before 12th century
in the meaning defined above
See Words from the same yearfor dates, the year is automatically listed as a pair of aughts, so the user has to scroll down to the correct figure
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.
First Known Use: 1872
in the meaning defined at sense 1
See Words from the same yearSee words that rhyme with aught Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for aught Nglish: Translation of aught for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of aught for Arabic speakers
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