nothing

1 /'nVTIN/ pronoun

1 not anything; no thing: Nothing ever happens in this town. | There's nothing in this box. Throw it away. | He said nothing about it to me. | nothing new/bad etc: Why are you still in bed when there's nothing wrong with you? | nothing to do/to eat etc: If you have nothing to do how about helping me in the garden? | nothing else (=nothing more): I had nothing else to say so I signed the letter. | nothing at all (=absolutely nothing): You must eat nothing at all before the operation.

2 something which is considered unimportant, not interesting or not worth worrying about: A harmless kiss. It meant nothing. | It's nothing, just a scratch. | There's nothing on television tonight. | It was nothing for a family to have ten children in those days.

3 especially AmE zero: We beat them ten to nothing.

4 for nothing

a) without paying for something or being paid for something: Why pay a plumber when my brother will do it for nothing | She knows the club manager so we always get in for nothing.

b) without having a good reason or purpose: We went all that way for nothing. | They don't call him Babyface Dickson for nothing!

5 have/be nothing to do with sb/sth (not in progressive)

a) if something has nothing to do with a particular fact or situation it is not connected with that fact or situation: Our decision has nothing to do with the fact that her father is on the committee.

b) if a situation has nothing to do with someone, it is personal and private: It's nothing to do with you. Mind your own business.

6 have/want nothing to do with to not be involved in something, especially because you disapprove: He told the police that he had wanted nothing to do with the whole thing.

7 nothing special not very bad and not very good; average: The meal was nothing special, just a little fish with a cheese sauce.

8 nothing but formal only: He's nothing but a common criminal.

9 nothing much very little: “What did you do last weekend?” “Oh, nothing much.”

10 there's nothing like used to say that something is very good: There's nothing like a long hot bath after a day's climbing.

11 there's nothing in/to sth used to say that what people are saying about someone else's personal life is not true: It seems there's nothing in the rumours that she's pregnant.

12 there's nothing for it but to do sth used when there is only one thing you can do in a particular situation: With the bridge destroyed there was nothing for it but to swim.

13 nothing doing spoken used to refuse to do something: Lend you -500? Nothing doing!

14 be nothing if not used to emphasize a particular quality that someone or something has: You've got to admit - he's nothing if not persistent.

15 nothing to it spoken used when something is easy to do: Anyone can use a computer. There's nothing to it!

16 it was nothing/think nothing of it spoken used when someone has thanked you a lot for something you have done for them: “You really shouldn't have gone to so much trouble” “Oh, think nothing of it.”

17 nothing of the sort spoken used to strongly refuse to do something or when you feel strongly that something is not true: What do you mean you're going to borrow my car? You'll do nothing of the sort!

—see also: sweet nothings sweet 1 (12), to say nothing of say 1 (47), nothing on earth earth 1 (11) 2 adverb

1 be nothing like sb/sth to have no qualities or features that are similar to someone or something else: She's nothing like her brother. He's dark and she's fair.

2 be nothing short of sth if someone's behaviour is nothing short of something such as laziness, corruption etc, they are extremely lazy or corrupt: His behaviour was nothing short of rudeness.