Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- pronoun Anything whatever.
- noun The digit zero.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Anything whatever; any part: used in interrogative, negative, and conditional sentences.
- In any respect; in any way; at all; by any chance.
- An obsolete form of
ought . - noun An obsolete or dialectal form of
eight . - noun Possession; property.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Scot. Property; possession.
- adverb At all; in any degree.
- noun Anything; any part.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- pronoun
anything whatever, any part. - noun
whit , the smallest part,iota . - noun archaic
zero - noun The digit zero as the decade in years. For example, aught-nine for 1909 or 2009.
- adverb archaic At all, in any degree, in any respect.
- noun
Property ;possession - noun
Duty ;place ;office - verb to
own ,possess - verb to
owe , be obliged or obligated to - adjective possessed of
- noun Obsolete or dialectal form of
eight .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a quantity of no importance
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word aught.
Examples
-
"Is there aught," she panted, "_aught_ that could come between your soul and mine?"
His Grace of Osmonde Being the Portions of That Nobleman's Life Omitted in the Relation of His Lady's Story Presented to the World of Fashion under the Title of A Lady of Quality Frances Hodgson Burnett 1886
-
Cause his mum didn't have no money to dress him in aught but a suit of rags, stitched up from scraps of handmedowns and castoffs what had been worn to nothing and chucked away.
Jack Scallywag Hal Duncan 2009
-
Drunken with the wine of success deep-quaffed, without superstition and without faith in aught but its own ascendant star, laughing at the wreckage of science and mad with pride of race, it went forth upon the way of war.
Goliah 2010
-
Well, Anibal threw a no-hitter last night, the first since another guy I've laughed at a lot over the years (not because of his name but because, well, he's damn funny looking) threw a perfect game against my beloved Bravos back in aught four.
Baseball 2008
-
Far be it from me to gainsay thee in aught, for I am indebted to thee for many favours and bounties and much kindness, and (praised be Allah!)
-
We will do thee no upright, O my son, nor wrong thee in aught; but our object is that thou bend thy gracious steps with me to my mistress, to receive her answer and return in weal and safety: and thou shalt have a handsome present as one who bringeth good news.
-
Now when the Commander of the Faithful heard this verse, he was moved to great delight and his sister said to him, “O my brother, whoso decideth in aught against himself, him it behoveth to abide by it and do according to his word; and thou hast judged against thyself by this judgement.”
-
“Command me as thou wilt: I will not gainsay thee in aught; no, never, for I am the freedman of thy bounty.”
-
Tarkanan by the remnants of his host of what had befallen his son, whereat he slept not neither took delight in aught, and he was troubled with sore trouble.
-
Moreover I have sworn an oath not to tread their soil nor transgress against them in aught; so how shall this man come at the daughter of the Great King, and who hath power to bring him to her or help him in this matter?
oroboros commented on the word aught
All v. nothing.
May 24, 2008
bilby commented on the word aught
"As I went my way I sifted this thing, and could not get quit of it. I found the most weighty arguments against the Creator’s arbitrariness in letting me pay for all the others’ sins. Even after I had found a seat and sat down, the query persisted in occupying me, and prevented me from thinking of aught else."
- Knut Hamsun, 'Hunger'.
July 25, 2009
bilby commented on the word aught
And thou art dead, as young and fair
As aught of mortal birth;
And form so soft, and charms so rare,
Too soon return'd to Earth!
Though Earth receiv'd them in her bed,
And o'er the spot the crowd may tread
In carelessness or mirth,
There is an eye which could not brook
A moment on that grave to look.
- Lord Byron, 'And Thou Art Dead, As Young and Fair'.
September 30, 2009
revengeance commented on the word aught
"LYSANDER: Ay me! For aught that I could ever read,
Could ever hear by tale or history,
The course of true love never did run smooth;
But either it was different in blood -"
William Shakespeare, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
January 12, 2012
shanvrolijk commented on the word aught
As blogging went mainstream in the aughts, a small circle of feminist bloggers—mostly straight, thirtyish or younger, American, and living on the coasts—was elevated along with it to the status of regular columnists.
https://www.candybank.com/public/50AF55E3-0D89-0AB8-816C-57B32B97D1D8
February 14, 2017