nothing

The word “nothing” means not anything; no thing at all. In plain terms, the absence of anything at all, or something trivial and unimportant.

“Nothing” is pronounced NUH-thihng (/ˈnʌθɪŋ/ in IPA).

Here is “nothing” used in a sentence: “There was nothing left in the fridge.”

Words with a similar meaning to “nothing” include aught, blank, bupkis, cipher, dick all and diddly.

The opposite of “nothing” — its antonyms — are anything, everything and something.

Depending on how it is used, “nothing” can be a pronoun, a noun and an adverb.

The word “nothing” comes from Old English. From Old English nān þing, literally "not any thing.".

“Nothing” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

'Nothing' means not any thing at all and stands on its own, as in 'there's nothing here.' 'None' means not any of a specific group and usually refers back to named or countable items: 'none of the cookies are left.' Use 'nothing' for things in general and 'none' for a particular set.

In standard English, no. 'Didn't' and 'nothing' together form a double negative that literally cancels out, so the intended meaning is 'I did nothing' or 'I didn't do anything.' The phrase is common in casual speech and some dialects, but it is avoided in formal writing and speech.

The most direct opposites are 'everything,' meaning all things, and 'something,' meaning at least one thing. Picture a scale: 'nothing' sits at the empty end, 'something' in the middle, and 'everything' at the full end. Which opposite fits depends on whether you mean any amount at all or the complete total.

'There is nothing in the box' means it is completely empty. 'Nothing surprises me anymore' uses it as a subject meaning no thing at all. In 'it cost nothing,' it stands for zero — free of charge — showing how 'nothing' can express both absence and the number zero.