Standard Lemma guide

zilch

adj · name · noun · verb · 6 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.

  • General-American, Received-Pronunciation: zĭlch
  • General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /zɪlt͡ʃ/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • UK: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪltʃ
  • CMU ARPABET: Z IH1 L CH Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

No, zero, non-existent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, informal, not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

name

Meaning 2

A surname from German.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A nobody: a person who is worthless in importance or character.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, countable, informal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: absolute zero, also-ran, chopped liver, cipher, crumb, Joe Nobody, little guy, minnow, nebbish, nobody, no one, nothing, nothingburger, nonentity, picayune, pip-squeak, pleb, peon, prole, puny, quidam, rinky-dink, shrimp, wankstain, zero, zilch

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Nothing, zero.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal, uncountable

Examples

  • Her search for decent home-made winter clothes came up with zilch, so she had to get imported stuff.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To cause to score nothing, to thoroughly defeat.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, informal

Topics: hobbies, lifestyle, sports

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

a quantity of no importance

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • it looked like nothing I had ever seen before
  • reduced to nil all the work we had done
  • we racked up a pathetic goose egg
  • it was all for naught
  • I didn't hear zilch about it

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: nothing, nil, nix, nada, null, aught, cipher, cypher, goose egg, naught, zero, zip, zippo

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: relative quantity

Narrower terms: nihil, bugger all, fuck all, Fanny Adams, sweet Fanny Adams

History

Etymology

Probably from Joe Zilch, a placeholder name (compare John Doe) used by Nunnally Johnson in his column in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle from 1923; in turn from Joe Zilch, an unseen character referenced in comedian Frank Tinney's stage routine. Compare the rare German surname Zilch.

From German Zilch. Found in America since at least the 1860s. As a 1930s placeholder surname of uncertain etymology, the eventual etymon of zilch.

Across languages

Translations

26 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: بوش (bōš) — (informal) nothing
  • Esperanto: nenio — (informal) nothing
  • Finnish: ei-kukaan — (informal) nothing
  • French: que dalle — (informal) nothing
  • French: que pouic — (informal) nothing
  • German: nix — (informal) nothing
  • Japanese: 何も (nani mo) — (informal) nothing
  • Pannonian Rusyn: нїч (njič) — (informal) nothing
  • Portuguese: nadica — (informal) nothing
  • Romanian: canci — (informal) nothing
  • Romanian: ioc — (informal) nothing
  • Romanian: boacă — (informal) nothing
  • Romanian: nulitate — (informal) nothing
  • Romanian: neica nimeni — (informal) nothing
  • Russian: ничего́ (ničevó) — (informal) nothing
  • Russian: ни черта́ (ni čertá) — (informal) nothing
  • Russian: ни фига́ (ni figá) — (informal) nothing
  • Russian: ни шиша́ (ni šišá) — (informal) nothing
  • Russian: ни хрена́ (ni xrená) — (informal) nothing
  • Russian: ни хуя́ (ni xujá) — (informal) nothing
  • Russian: ни хера́ (ni xerá) — (informal) nothing
  • Swedish: noll — (informal) nothing
  • Swedish: nolla — (informal) nothing
  • Swedish: ingenting — (informal) nothing
  • Turkish: hiç — (informal) nothing
  • Turkish: değersiz — (informal) nothing