nil

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈnɪl/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/nɪl/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(nil)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
nil /nɪl/USA pronunciation   n. [uncountable]
  1. nothing;
    naught;
    zero:Our profits were nil.

adj. 
  1. having no value or existence.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
nil  (nil),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. nothing;
    naught;
    zero.

adj. 
  1. having no value or existence:His credit rating is nil.
  • Latin nīl, variant (by apocope) of nīlum, contraction of nihilum nothing, equivalent. to ni (variant of ne not) + hīlum trifle
  • 1805–15

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
nil / nɪl/
  1. another word for nothing: used esp in the scoring of certain games
Etymology: 19th Century: from Latin
'nil' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Nilgiri Hills - anil - eau de nil - hilum - lilac - nihilism - nil admirari - nil desperandum - nil sine numine - nilpotent - null - pique - unnilhexium - unnilpentium - unnilquadium - unnilseptium - zero - zilch - zip
Collocations: a nil [value, rating, score], [scored, received, got] nil points, the score was [two] - nil, more...

Forum discussions with the word(s) "nil" in the title:


Look up "nil" at Merriam-Webster
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