(nothings)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
Nothing means not a single thing, or not a single part of something.
I've done nothing much since coffee time...
Mr Pearson said he knew nothing of his wife's daytime habits...
He was dressed in jeans and nothing else...
There is nothing wrong with the car.
PRON
2.
You use nothing to indicate that something or someone is not important or significant.
Because he had always had money it meant nothing to him...
While the increase in homicides is alarming, it is nothing compared to what is to come in the rest of the decade...
She kept bursting into tears over nothing at work...
Do our years together mean nothing?
PRON
•
Nothing is also a noun.
It is the picture itself that is the problem; so small, so dull. It's a nothing, really...
N-COUNT: usu sing
3.
If you say that something cost nothing or is worth nothing, you are indicating that it cost or is worth a surprisingly small amount of money.
The furniture was threadbare; he'd obviously picked it up for nothing...
Homes in this corner of Mantua that once went for $350,000 are now worth nothing.
PRON
4.
You use nothing before an adjective or 'to'-infinitive to say that something or someone does not have the quality indicated.
Around the lake the countryside generally is nothing special...
There was nothing remarkable about him...
All kids her age do silly things; it's nothing to worry about.
PRON: PRON adj, PRON to-inf
5.
You can use nothing before 'so' and an adjective or adverb, or before a comparative, to emphasize how strong or great a particular quality is.
Youngsters learn nothing so fast as how to beat the system...
I consider nothing more important in my life than songwriting...
There's nothing better than a good cup of hot coffee.
PRON: PRON so adj/adv, PRON compar [emphasis]
6.
You can use all or nothing to say that either something must be done fully and completely or else it cannot be done at all.
Either he went through with this thing or he did not; it was all or nothing.
PHRASE: v-link PHR
7.
If you say that something is better than nothing, you mean that it is not what is required, but that it is better to have that thing than to have nothing at all.
After all, 15 minutes of exercise is better than nothing.
PHRASE: v-link PHR
8.
You use nothing but in front of a noun, an infinitive without 'to', or an '-ing' form to mean 'only'.
All that money brought nothing but sadness and misery and tragedy...
It did nothing but make us ridiculous...
They care for nothing but fighting.
PHRASE: PHR n/inf/-ing
9.
If you say that there is nothing for it but to take a particular action, you mean that it is the only possible course of action that you can take, even though it might be unpleasant. (BRIT)
Much depends on which individual ingredients you choose. There is nothing for it but to taste and to experiment for yourself...
PHRASE: V inflects, PHR but to-inf, PHR but n
10.
You use nothing if not in front of an adjective to indicate that someone or something clearly has a lot of the particular quality mentioned.
Professor Fish has been nothing if not professional...
PHRASE: v-link PHR adj [emphasis]
11.
People sometimes say 'It's nothing' as a polite response after someone has thanked them for something they have done.
'Thank you for the wonderful dinner.'-'It's nothing,' Sarah said...
'I'll be on my way. I can't thank you enough, Alan.'-'It was nothing, but take care.'
= don't mention it
CONVENTION [formulae]
12.
If you say about a story or report that there is nothing in it or nothing to it, you mean that it is untrue.
It's all rubbish and superstition, and there's nothing in it.
PHRASE: there v-link PHR
13.
If you say about an activity that there is nothing to it or nothing in it, you mean that it is extremely easy.
This device has a gripper that electrically twists off the jar top. Nothing to it...
If you've shied away from making pancakes in the past, don't be put off-there's really nothing in it!
PHRASE: there v-link PHR
14.
If you say about a contest or competition that there is nothing in it, you mean that two or more of the competitors are level and have an equal chance of winning.
PHRASE: there v-link PHR
15.
Nothing of the sort is used when strongly contradicting something that has just been said.
'We're going to talk this over in my office.'-'We're going to do nothing of the sort.'...
Mrs Adamson said that she was extremely sorry, in tones that made it clear that she was nothing of the sort.
PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR [emphasis]
16.
nothing to write home about: see
home
to
say nothing of: see
say
nothing short of: see
short
to
stop at nothing: see
stop
to
think nothing of: see
think
