3 PRON If you say that something cost nothing or is worth nothing , you are indicating that it cost or is worth a surprisingly small amount of money. □ The furniture was threadbare; he'd obviously picked it up for nothing. □ His net UK estate was worth nothing after debts were taken into account.
4 PRON You use nothing before an adjective or 'to'-infinitive to say that something or someone does not have the quality indicated. □ Around the lake the countryside generally is nothing special. □ There was nothing remarkable about him. □ All kids her age do silly things; it's nothing to worry about.
5 PRON You can use nothing before 'so' and an adjective or adverb, or before a comparative, to emphasize how strong or great a particular quality is. [EMPHASIS ] □ Youngsters learn nothing so fast as how to beat the system. □ I consider nothing more important in my life than songwriting. □ There's nothing better than a good cup of hot coffee.
6 PHRASE You can use all or nothing to say that either something must be done fully and completely or else it cannot be done at all. □ Either he went through with this thing or he did not; it was all or nothing.
7 PHRASE If you say that something is better than nothing , you mean that it is not what is required, but that it is better to have that thing than to have nothing at all. □ After all, 15 minutes of exercise is better than nothing.
8 PHRASE You use nothing but in front of a noun, an infinitive without 'to', or an '-ing' form to mean 'only'. □ All that money brought nothing but sadness and misery and tragedy. □ It did nothing but make us ridiculous. □ They care for nothing but fighting.
9 PHRASE If you say that there is nothing for it but to take a particular action, you mean that it is the only possible course of action that you can take, even though it might be unpleasant. [BRIT ] □ Surrounded by empty fields, there was nothing for it but to keep going.
10 PHRASE You use nothing if not in front of an adjective to indicate that someone or something clearly has a lot of the particular quality mentioned. [EMPHASIS ] □ Professor Fish has been nothing if not professional.
11 CONVENTION People sometimes say ' It's nothing ' as a polite response after someone has thanked them for something they have done. [FORMULAE ] □ 'Thank you for the wonderful dinner.'—'It's nothing', Sarah said. □ 'I'll be on my way. I can't thank you enough, Alan'.—'It was nothing, but take care'.
12 PHRASE If you say about a story or report that there is nothing in it or nothing to it , you mean that it is untrue. □ It's all rubbish and superstition, and there's nothing in it.
13 PHRASE If you say about an activity that there is nothing to it or nothing in it , you mean that it is extremely easy. □ This device has a gripper that electrically twists off the jar top. Nothing to it. □ If you've shied away from making pancakes, don't be put off–there's really nothing in it!
14 PHRASE If you say about a contest or competition that there is nothing in it , you mean that two or more of the competitors are level and have an equal chance of winning.
15 PHRASE Nothing of the sort is used when strongly contradicting something that has just been said. [EMPHASIS ] □ 'We're going to talk this over in my office'.—'We're going to do nothing of the sort'. □ Mrs Adamson said that she was extremely sorry, in tones that made it clear that she was nothing of the sort.
16 → see also sweet nothings
17 nothing to write home about → see home ➊
18 to say nothing of → see say
19 nothing short of → see short ➊
20 to stop at nothing → see stop
21 to think nothing of → see think USAGE nothing
You don’t usually use any other negative word such as ‘not’ after nothing
. Don’t say, for example, ‘
noth|ing|ness /nʌ θ I ŋnəs/
1 N‑UNCOUNT Nothingness is the fact of not existing. □ There might be something beyond the grave, you know, and not nothingness.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Nothingness means complete emptiness. □ I peered out into what seemed like nothingness.
no|tice ◆◆◇ /noʊ t I s/ (notices , noticing , noticed )
1 VERB If you notice something or someone, you become aware of them. □ [V n] People should not hesitate to contact the police if they've noticed anyone acting suspiciously. □ [V that] I noticed that most academics were writing papers during the summer. □ [V wh] Luckily, I'd noticed where you left the car. □ [V n v-ing] Mrs Shedden noticed a bird sitting on the garage roof. □ [V ] She needn't worry that he'll think she looks a mess. He won't notice. [Also V n inf]
2 N‑COUNT A notice is a written announcement in a place where everyone can read it. □ A few guest houses had 'No Vacancies' notices in their windows. □ …a notice which said 'Beware Flooding'.
3 N‑UNCOUNT If you give notice about something that is going to happen, you give a warning in advance that it is going to happen. □ Interest is paid monthly. Three months' notice is required for withdrawals. □ She was transferred without notice.
4 N‑COUNT A notice is a formal announcement in a newspaper or magazine about something that has happened or is going to happen. □ [+ in ] I rang The Globe with news of Blake's death, and put notices in the personal column of The Times.