nought

/nɔːt/

//nɔːt// noun

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

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

The verdict

“nought” is uncommon English (frequency #52,527 among 1,534 “N” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,527
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Nothing; something which does not exist.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nought · nought · English

nought · rank #52,527 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #52,527
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH nosebleed

Nearest frequency peer: nosebleed (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “nought”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “nought” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for nought
PropertyValue
Headwordnought
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/nɔːt/
Letters6
Frequency rank#52,527
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “nought” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).noughtfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “nosebleed” (#52,526), “NRI” (#52,528), “nonhuman” (#52,525). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “nought” is #52,527. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

nought is uncommon English at frequency #52,527 among 1,534 “N” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /nɔːt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for nought in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English nought, noght, noȝt, from Old English nōwiht, nāwiht, which in turn comes from ne-ā-wiht, which was a phrase used as an emphatic "no", meaning "not anything". Equivalent to ne + ought or ne + a + wight. Doublet of naught and not. The correct English form is nought, spelled N-O-U-G-H-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Nothing; something which does not exist.
  2. 2
    A thing or person of no worth or value; nil.
  3. 3
    Not any quantity of number; zero; the score of no points in a game.
  4. 4
    The figure or character representing, or having the shape of, zero.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. "It is the truth; naught have I hidden from thee, Kallikrates."
  2. 0.335 cm is nought/zero point three three five of a centimeter.

Etymology

From Middle English nought, noght, noȝt, from Old English nōwiht, nāwiht, which in turn comes from ne-ā-wiht, which was a phrase used as an emphatic "no", meaning "not anything". Equivalent to ne + ought or ne + a + wight. Doublet of naught and not.

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 "nought"?
"nought" is spelled N-O-U-G-H-T. The IPA pronunciation is /nɔːt/.
What does "nought" mean?
As a noun, "nought" means: Nothing; something which does not exist.
How do you pronounce "nought"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nought" 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 "nought"?
From Middle English nought, noght, noȝt, from Old English nōwiht, nāwiht, which in turn comes from ne-ā-wiht, which was a phrase used as an emphatic "no", meaning "not anything". Equivalent to ne + ought or ne + a + wight. Doublet of naught and not. 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 "nought", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

omnium#52,534niacin#52,519neocon#52,514myelin#52,512

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list