Search the Dictionary

A stupid person; a fool; a blockhead. Some will say, our curate is naught, an ass-head, a dodipoll. Latimer.

See Do-naught. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

To make less; to bring low. Our drooping days are dwindled down to naught. Thomson.

To raise or lift up; to exalt. [Obs.] Wyclif. Who, naught aghast, his mighty hand enhanced. Spenser.

With exclusion of; leaving or left out; excepting. God and his Son except, Created thing naught valued he nor . . . shunned. Milton.

make expiation for; as, to expiate a crime, a guilt, or sin. To expiate his treason, hath naught left. Milton. The Treasurer obliged himself to expiate the injury. Clarendon.

A stream or spring of fresh water. He shall drink naught but brine; for I'll not show him Where the quick freshes are. Shak.

. (a) To escape into a hole; -- said of a hunted fox. (b) To fall in battle. -- To go to naught (Colloq.), to prove abortive, or unavailling. -- To go under. (a) To set; -- said of the sun. (b) To be known or recognized by (a name, title, etc.). (c) To be overwhelmed, submerged, or defeated; to perish; to succumb. -…

In games, a zero; a score or record of naught; -- so named in allusion to the egglike outline of the zero sign 0. Called also duck egg. [Slang]

Contrary to good, in a moral sense; evil; wicked; wrong; iniquitious; naughtly; bad; improper. Of his own body he was ill, and gave The clergy ill example. Shak.

Having no essence or being. H. Brooke. The womb of inessential Naught. Shelley.

Intemperate. [Obs.] Such as be intemperant, that is, followers of their naughty appetites and lusts. Udall.

a hostile or treacherous scheme; an artful design or plot. Devilish machinations come to naught. Milton. His ingenious machinations had failed. Macaulay.

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…

See Naught. Chaucer.

To learn out [i. e., completely, utterly]; to exhaust knowledge of. Naught, according to his mind, He could outlearn. Spenser. Men and gods have not outlearned it [love]. Emerson.

Foresight. [Obs.] Naught might hinder his quick prejudize. Spenser.

commonly, condign punishment for evil or wrong. All who have their reward on earth, . . . Naught seeking but the praise of men, here find Fit retribution, empty as their deeds. Milton.

Right as it were a steed of Lumbardye. Chaucer. His wounds so smarted that he slept right naught. Fairfax.

Hence, bad; naughty; troublesome; wicked. [Colloq.] "Sad tipsy fellows, both of them." I. Taylor.