nought

[nawt] /nɔt/
noun, adjective, adverb
1.
naught.
Origin
before 900; Middle English; Old English nōht, contraction of nōwiht, equivalent to ne not + ōwiht aught1
Can be confused
naught, nought.
Examples from the web for nought
  • There's not some super secret double nought spy club with beanies and secret decoder rings.
  • All the talk of staving off collapse and not repeating last year was for nought.
  • They rejoice in a thing of nought, and are miserable comforters.
  • They will find nought but enemies before and around them.
  • Attempts to protect investors from market swings may come to nought.
  • Above all, the charter may come to nought if the bishops fail to enforce it at diocesan level.
British Dictionary definitions for nought

nought

/nɔːt/
noun
1.
the digit 0; zero: used esp in counting or numbering
noun, adjective, adverb
2.
a variant spelling of naught
Word Origin
Old English nōwiht, from ne not, no + ōwiht something; see whit
Word Origin and History for nought
n.

Old English nowiht "nothing," variant of nawiht (see naught). Meaning "zero, cipher" is from early 15c. Expression for nought "in vain" is late 13c. To come to nought is from 1590s.