nothing

Phrases

be nothing to do with

see do¹.

for nothing

• 1at no cost; without payment:working for nothing

• 2to no purpose:he died anyway; so it had all been for nothing

have nothing on someone

see have.

have nothing to do with

see do¹.

no nothing

informal (concluding a list of negatives) nothing at all:how could you solve it with no clues, no witnesses, no nothing?

not for nothing

for a very good reason:not for nothing have I got a brother-in-law who cooks professionally

nothing but

only:nothing but the best will do

nothing daunted

see daunt.

nothing doing

informal

• 1there is no prospect of success or agreement:He wants to marry her. Nothing doing!

• 2nothing is happening:there’s nothing doing, and I’ve been waiting for weeks

nothing (or nothing else) for it

British no alternative:there was nothing for it but to follow

nothing less than

used to emphasize how extreme something is:it was nothing less than sexual harassment

nothing loath

quite willing.

nothing much

not a great amount; nothing of importance.

there is nothing to it

there is no difficulty involved.

stop at nothing

see stop.

sweet nothings

words of affection exchanged by lovers:whispering sweet nothings in her ear

think nothing of it

do not apologize or feel bound to show gratitude (used as a polite response).

you ain't seen nothing yet

informal used to indicate that although something may be considered extreme or impressive, there is something even more extreme or impressive in store:if you think that was muddy, you ain’t seen nothing yet