null

\ ˈnəl

Definition of null

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : having no legal or binding force : invalid a null contract

2 : amounting to nothing : nil the null uselessness of the wireless transmitter that lacks a receiving station— Fred Majdalany

3 : having no value : insignificant … news as null as nothing …— Emily Dickinson

4a : having no elements (see element sense b(3)) null set

b : having zero as a limit null sequence

c of a matrix : having all elements equal to zero

5a : indicating usually by a zero reading on a scale when a given quantity (such as current or voltage) is zero or when two quantities are equal —used of an instrument

b : being or relating to a method of measurement in which an unknown quantity (as of electric current) is compared with a known quantity of the same kind and found equal by a null detector

6 : of, being, or relating to zero The meter gave a null reading.

7 : zero sense 1c

null

noun

Definition of null (Entry 2 of 3)

1 : zero sense 3a(1)

2a : a condition of a radio receiver when minimum or zero signal is received

b : a minimum or zero value of an electric current or of a radio signal

null

verb

nulled; nulling; nulls

Definition of null (Entry 3 of 3)

transitive verb

: to make null

Synonyms & Antonyms Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about null

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Did You Know?

Adjective

English borrowed "null" from the Anglo-French nul, meaning "not any." That word, in turn, traces to the Latin word nullus, from ne-, meaning "not," and ullus, meaning "any." "Null" often pops up in legal and scientific contexts. It was originally used in Scottish law and still carries the meaning "having no legal or binding force." In math, it is sometimes used to mean "containing nothing"; for example, the set of all whole numbers that are divisible by zero is the "null set" (that is, there are no numbers that fit that description). But "null" also has some more general uses. We often use it with the meaning "lacking meaning or value" (as in "by the time I heard it, the news was null").

Examples of null in a Sentence

Adjective the contract was null because one party forgot to sign it that information is as null as no information at all Verb asked the state court to null the election results because of widespread voting irregularities

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective The Court will accordingly make an Order declaring that the Prime Minister's advice to HM the Queen and the prorogation which followed thereon was unlawful and is thus null and of no effect. — CNN, "Read the Scottish judges' summary of their ruling that the suspension of UK Parliament is 'unlawful'," 11 Sep. 2019 Call,null,arguments)},construct:function(t,e){if(!ht. — FOXNews.com, "No title," 12 July 2019 When the grid was still, the two light waves would bounce back to the corner and cancel each other out, producing a null signal in a detector. — Quanta Magazine, "Gravitational Waves Discovered at Long Last," 11 Feb. 2016 The lander is not moving around as much as feared, so both sats connect without encountering the antenna’s null zone. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "How a Small CubeSat Became the Unlikely Hero of the InSight Landing," 29 Nov. 2018 Experiments capable of more exact measurements followed, all with the same null result. — Meg Neal, Popular Mechanics, "The Eternal Quest for Aether, the Cosmic Stuff That Never Was," 19 Oct. 2018 The main finding is that the thrust is in the right direction, and the null positions produce no thrust. — Chris Lee, Ars Technica, "NASA’s EM-drive is a magnetic WTF-thruster," 21 May 2018 See, scientists tend to publish positive findings and leave negative or null results in their desk drawers/desktops. — Sarah Scoles, WIRED, "What Happens When Science Just Disappears?," 25 Apr. 2018 Field experiments testing the effects of online ads on political candidates and issues have also found null effects. — Brendan Nyhan, New York Times, "Fake News and Bots May Be Worrisome, but Their Political Power Is Overblown," 13 Feb. 2018 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Human rights prosecutor Jordán Rodas asked the tribunal to overturn it, arguing that U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs or other consequences made the agreement null. — Washington Post, "US Homeland Security discusses asylum agreement in Guatemala," 31 July 2019 That benefit is rendered null, however, when people take photos with the intent of sharing them on, say, Instagram. — Rebecca Jennings, Vox, "Everyone wants to Instagram the world’s most beautiful canyon. Should they?," 11 July 2019 The server logs are sent to dev/null, a nonexistent directory on Linux machines. — Ian Paul, PCWorld, "Mullvad 2018 review: A fantastic VPN has a great new look," 17 Oct. 2018 SlideComponent);var w=[],y=null,C=function(e){function t(n,i,r){e.call(this,t,y,_.ViewType. — Car and Driver, "No title," 12 July 2018 SlideComponent);var w=[],y=null,C=function(e){function t(n,i,r){e.call(this,t,y,_.ViewType. — Car and Driver, "No title," 12 July 2018 SlideComponent);var w=[],y=null,C=function(e){function t(n,i,r){e.call(this,t,y,_.ViewType. — Car and Driver, "No title," 12 July 2018 SlideComponent);var w=[],y=null,C=function(e){function t(n,i,r){e.call(this,t,y,_.ViewType. — Car and Driver, "No title," 12 July 2018 SlideComponent);var w=[],y=null,C=function(e){function t(n,i,r){e.call(this,t,y,_.ViewType. — Car and Driver, "No title," 12 July 2018 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Miley threw 51/3 perfect innings, nulled three runners in the seventh and tried to complete a shutout in the ninth. — Hunter Atkins, Houston Chronicle, "Wade Miley's superb start squandered as Astros fall to A's in 11 innings," 24 July 2019 The sats surge their signal strength to overwhelm any noise from an enemy trying to jam them, while nulling antennas pinpoint the attack and dampen the signal with counter-noise. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "Doomsday Satellites and the Space Wars To Come," 15 Feb. 2018 Come kickoff Saturday night, any previous patterns and statistics for Futbol Club Cincinnati are nulled. — Charlie Hatch, Cincinnati.com, "FC Cincinnati enters USL Playoffs under different circumstances from last Rowdies game," 21 Oct. 2017 However, the shock lead was nulled three minutes before the break, as Cristiano Ronaldo levelled things up from 12-yards-out, punishing the 24-year-old Lilywhites right-back's decision to bring down Toni Kroos inside the area. — SI.com, "Mauricio Pochettino Left Proud of His Players After Gaining Invaluable Point in Madrid," 18 Oct. 2017 Don’t worry that cooking with it will null the point: The heat is not so high as to damage the principal flavors. — Emily Horton, charlotteobserver, "Eggplant and tomato make the pasta sauce of summer," 29 Aug. 2017 Don’t worry that cooking with it will null the point: The heat is not so high as to damage the principal flavors. — Emily Horton, sacbee, "Eggplant and tomato make the pasta sauce of summer," 29 Aug. 2017

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