aught

1 of 3

pronoun

ˈȯt 

ˈät

1

: anything

2

: all, everything

for aught I care

for aught we know

aught

2 of 3

adverb

archaic

: at all

aught

3 of 3

noun

1

: zero, cipher

2

archaic : nonentity, nothing

3

aughts plural : the ten year period from 2000 through 2009

By the middle of the aughts, … the percentage of 26-year-olds living with their parents reached 20 percent, nearly double what it was in 1970.

—Don Peck

Did you know?

"If you know aught which does behove my knowledge / Thereof to be inform'd, imprison't not / In ignorant concealment," Polixenes begs Camillo in William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, employing the "anything" sense of aught. Shakespeare didn't coin the pronoun aught, which has been a part of the English language since before the 12th century, but he did put it to frequent use. Writers today may be less likely to use aught than were their literary predecessors, but the pronoun does continue to turn up occasionally. Aught can also be a noun meaning "zero," and "the aughts" is heard occasionally for the decade at the beginning of a century (say, 1900-1909 or 2000-2009) in which the penultimate digit is a zero.

Synonyms of aught

Noun

• nothing
• zero
• naught

Examples of aught in a Sentence

Noun

for dates, the year is automatically listed as a pair of aughts, so the user has to scroll down to the correct figure

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

These pieces are generally from an earlier era of Lilly Pulitzer's history, typically ranging from the 1960s to the early aughts. —Nicole Letts, Southern Living, 28 Apr. 2026

Kapetan’s yearning, intimate voice is still front and center, mixing and modernizing elements of favorites of the aughts like Conor Oberst (his earnestness), Ben Kweller (his wit), and Sufjan Stevens (his beauty). —Brendan Hay, SPIN, 27 Apr. 2026

Madonna and Guy Ritchie's 2008 divorce was one of the biggest stories of the early aughts. —Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 27 Apr. 2026

Redick worked with James’ trainer Mike Mancias to ensure his 41-year-old star’s durability in the final aughts of the game – the four-time NBA MVP eventually playing a team-high 45 minutes while using any opportunity to sink to the floor for a breather. —Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 25 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Pronoun and Adverb

Middle English, from Old English āwiht, from ā ever + wiht creature, thing — more at aye, wight

Noun

alteration (resulting from false division of a naught) of naught

First Known Use

Pronoun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1872, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing aught

• for aught one knows

Rhymes for aught

• baht
• blot
• bott
• bought
• brought
• caught
• clot
• cot
• cott
• dot
• fought
• fraught

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

aught

1 of 2 pronoun

ˈȯt 

ˈät

: all entry 3 sense 1

for aught we know

aught

2 of 2 noun

1

: zero entry 1 sense 1

2

: the first decade of a century

Etymology

Pronoun

Old English āwiht "anything," from ā "ever, always" and wiht "creature, thing"

Noun

from naught "zero," from mistaking a naught for an aught