aught

as in nothing
the numerical symbol 0 or the absence of number or quantity represented by it for dates, the year is automatically listed as a pair of aughts, so the user has to scroll down to the correct figure

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of aught For much of the aughts, Cannes was locked in a not-so Cold War with the Venice Film Festival over who could bag the most exciting titles. Thomas Page, CNN Money, 11 May 2025 In the early aughts, scientists dated two specimens of peyote, found in a cave near the Rio Grande, at more than five thousand years old. Michael Pollan, New Yorker, 19 May 2025 Think of Amazon in the late 1990s and early aughts. Michael Khouw, CNBC, 15 May 2025 Despite his illustrious White Parties, the late ’90s and early aughts presented several challenges for Combs. Kyndall Cunningham, Vox, 12 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for aught
Recent Examples of Synonyms for aught
Noun
  • My memoir was built of gaps, juxtaposition, weird little nothings.
    Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Longreads, 16 Dec. 2024
  • The one whose legs turned nothings into somethings, improvising the Lions’ entire defensive game plan into a pile of ash?
    Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 10 Feb. 2024
Noun
  • Ones are the people who help the zeros in their crusades.
    GrrlScientist, Forbes.com, 26 May 2025
  • After each striking early, the Twins and Royals pitching staffs put up zeros throughout the middle and late innings of the game, leading them into the ninth inning deadlocked.
    Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 24 May 2025
Noun
  • Lucas Giolito’s 7 shutout innings for naught as Sox can’t complete sweep The Red Sox squandered seven shutout innings from Lucas Giolito and dropped yet another 1-run game.
    Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 24 May 2025
  • That's much higher than with other infectious diseases, such as Ebola with an R naught of 2.
    Alyson Hurt, NPR, 28 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Aught.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/aught. Accessed 11 Jun. 2025.

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