naught

/nɔːt/

//nɔːt// pron

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"naught" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“naught” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #30,510. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#30,510
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Nothing.

Corpus desk

Index EN-naught · naught · English

naught · rank #30,510 · 9 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #30,510
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH nai

Nearest frequency peer: nai (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “naught”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “naught” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

naught vs night
67% similar
naught vs nougat
67% similar
naught vs naughty
86% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for naught
PropertyValue
Headwordnaught
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPronoun
IPA/nɔːt/
Letters6
Frequency rank#30,510
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “naught”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).naughtlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “nai” (#30,509), “mousse” (#30,508), “nitrous” (#30,513). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “naught” is #30,510. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around naught (IPA /nɔːt/), apronoun. Corpus frequency is #30,510 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Nothing.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for naught, with forms such as "anught", "naguht", and "naugght". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "night", "nougat", "naughty", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From the Middle English naught, nought, naht, nawiht, from Old English nawiht. Cognate with West Frisian neat (“nothing, naught”). Doublet of nought. Equivalent to ne + aught. The correct English form is naught, spelled N-A-U-G-H-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Nothing.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how naught appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Naught can come of this, you mark my words.
  2. Eat! Drink! Love! for all else is naught.

Etymology

From the Middle English naught, nought, naht, nawiht, from Old English nawiht. Cognate with West Frisian neat (“nothing, naught”). Doublet of nought. Equivalent to ne + aught.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • anught
  • naguht
  • naugght
  • naughht
  • naughtt
  • naugth
  • nauhgt
  • nnaught
  • nuaght

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of naught - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

anught2naguht2naugght1naughht1naughtt1naugth2nauhgt2nnaught1
Edit distance from "naught"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "naught"?
"naught" is spelled N-A-U-G-H-T. The IPA pronunciation is /nɔːt/.
What does "naught" mean?
As a pronoun, "naught" means: Nothing.
What words are commonly confused with "naught"?
"naught" is commonly confused with "night", "nougat", "naughty". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "naught"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "naught" is /nɔːt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "naught"?
From the Middle English naught, nought, naht, nawiht, from Old English nawiht. Cognate with West Frisian neat (“nothing, naught”). Doublet of nought. Equivalent to ne + aught. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "naught", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

mousse#30,508outrun#30,525maduro#30,489luster#30,486

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Millwall9 variantsMcClure9 variantsMadeira9 variantspeeking9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list