nothing

Definitions

1. 1.Nonexistence; nonentity; absence of being; nihility; nothingness. Shak.
2. 2.A thing of no account, value, or note; something irrelevant and impertinent; something of comparative unimportance; utter insignificance; a trifle. Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought. Is. xli.
3. 3.'T is nothing, says the fool; but, says the friend, This nothing, sir, will bring you to your end. Dryden.
4. 4.(Arith.) A cipher; naught. Nothing but, only; no more than. Chaucer. -- To make nothing of. (a) To make no difficulty of; to consider as trifling or important. "We are industrious to preserve our bodies from slavery, but we make nothing of suffering our souls to be slaves to our lusts." Ray. (b) Not to understand; as, I could make nothing of what he said.
5. 5.In no degree; not at all; in no wise. Adam, with such counsel nothing swayed. Milton. The influence of reason in producing our passions is nothing near so extensive as is commonly believed. Burke. Nothing off (Naut.), an order to the steersman to keep the vessel close to the wind.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Synonyms

Related questions

• What does "nothing" mean?
• What is another word for "nothing"?

Reverse-dictionary questions

Definition-first questions whose answer is nothing.

• What is nonexistence; nonentity; absence of being; nihility; nothingness. Shak called?
• What is 'T is nothing, says the fool; but, says the friend, This nothing, sir, will bring you to your end. Dryden called?