naught

1 of 2

pronoun

ˈnȯt  ˈnät 

variants or less commonly nought

: nothing

Their efforts came to naught.

It was all for naught.

naught

2 of 2

noun

variants or less commonly nought

1

: nothingness, nonexistence

2

: the arithmetical symbol 0 : zero, cipher

Synonyms of naught

Noun

• nothing
• zero
• aught

Examples of naught in a Sentence

Noun

my locker number is naught-seven-two

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Hopes that Bill Clinton and Barack Obama would seriously boost the traditional arts largely came to naught. —Alex Ross, New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2026

Showrunners Lilla and Nora Zuckerman were doing rewrites, all for naught. —Bethy Squires, Vulture, 18 Mar. 2026

Of course, these early positions were all for naught. —Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2026

Banchero’s 37-point, 10-rebound showing at Cleveland, however, was all for naught when Jamahl Mosley‘s squad fell 114-98 inside Rocket Arena on NBC’s streaming service Peacock. —Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Pronoun and Noun

Middle English nought, from Old English nāwiht, from nā no + wiht creature, thing — more at no, wight

First Known Use

Pronoun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing naught

• all for naught
• come to naught
• go for naught

Rhymes for naught

• aught
• baht
• blot
• bott
• bought
• brought
• caught
• clot
• cot
• cott
• dot
• fought

Kids Definition

naught

1 of 2 pronoun

variants also nought

ˈnȯt, 

ˈnät

: nothing entry 1 sense 2

their efforts came to naught

naught

2 of 2 noun

variants also nought

1

: the quality or state of being nothing : nonexistence

2

: zero entry 1 sense 1 see number