Standard Lemma guide

nought

adj · adv · noun · pron · verb · 11 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /nɔːt/
  • Australian, British, New-Zealand, Southern, Standard: /noːt/
  • Multicultural-London-English: /nʊt/
  • US: /nɔt/ without the cot–caught merger
  • Atlantic-Canada, US, cot-caught-merger: /nɑt/
  • US: cot-caught Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Canada, Eastern-New-England: /nɒt/
  • Scotland: /nɔt/
  • rhymes with -ɔːt
  • homophone: naught
  • homophone: not
  • homophone: knot (both cot–caught merger)

1

adj

Meaning 1

Good for nothing; worthless.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: good-for-naught, no good, valueless, bastardly, blown, cacky, chaffy, cocking, crapalicious, cruddy, cullionly, draffish, draffy, dreckish, drecky, duffing, floccinaucinihilipilificatious, for the birds, fucking, garbagey, good-for-nothing, goodless, ineffectual, invaluable, jabberwocky, junky, mouldy, mucid, naughty, no-account, no good / no-good, nonvaluable, not worth a damn, not worth a dime, not worth a plug nickel, not worth a brass farthing, not worth a cent, not worth a cress, not worth a curse, not worth a Continental, not worth a farthing, not worth hell room, not worth a nickel, not worth a penny, not worth salt, not worth a whistle, nought, of no value, pissass, punk, putid, rubbishly, rubbishy, sixpenny, scabbed, screwy, scummy, shand, shit, shitey, shitstained, shitty-ass, sorry-ass, strawlike, suckworthy, tenth-rate, toshy, trinkety, triobolar, tripy, two-bit, unappreciated, unvaluable, vain, worthless, worth nothing, wutless

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Wicked, immoral.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: depraved, iniquitous, unscrupulous, aberrant, corrupt, corrupted, dirty-handed, dissolute, effete, errant, indecent, indecorous, immodest, immoral, improper, incontinent, iniquous, licentious, nought, obscene, perverse, perverted, profligate, reprobate, unduteous, undutiful, unethical, ungodly, unjust, unprincipled, unrighteous, unseemly, unworthy, wrong

Antonyms: none provided

3

adv

Meaning 3

To no extent; in no way; not at all.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adv

Meaning 4

Not.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

Nothing; something which does not exist.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

A thing or person of no worth or value; nil.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

Not any quantity of number; zero; the score of no points in a game.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • 0.335 cm is nought/zero point three three five of a centimeter.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

The figure or character representing, or having the shape of, zero.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

pron

Meaning 9

Nothing; zero.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

verb

Meaning 10

To abase, to set at nought.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

11

noun

Meaning 11

a mathematical element that when added to another number yields the same number

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: zero, 0, cipher, cypher

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: digit, figure

History

Etymology

From Middle English nought, noght, noȝt, from Old English nōwiht, nāwiht, which in turn comes from ne-ā-wiht, which was a phrase used as an emphatic "no", meaning "not anything". Equivalent to ne + ought or ne + a + wight. Doublet of naught and not.