15+ Slang Words For Nothing (And Other Related Words)

Written by Gabriel Cruz - Foodie, Animal Lover, Slang & Language Enthusiast

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In a world that wants to have more, do more, and earn more, having nothing is such an unsettling and downright scary idea. However, the reality is at some point in the grand scheme of things, there will come a time wherein we feel and look like nothing. In these times, the emptiness is a motivation to do better. Have yourself take the steering wheels between settling for nothing and seizing everything with the following expressions.

Slang Words for Nothing (in Alphabetical Order)

Back to Square One

Meaning:

  • (Verb) Going back to the first steps after the procedure or steps proved ineffective.
  • Example: After the experimental drug had severe side-effects, the scientists decided it was time to go back to square one.

Big Girl's Blouse

Meaning:

  • (Noun) A degrading slang for a man who lacks manly characteristics.
  • Example: Alfred looks like wearing a big girl’s blouse for crying over a few mean comments.

Bugger All

Meaning:

  • (Expression) A vulgar British slang for nothing.
  • Example: Let’s go home. This movie is a bugger all.

Duck Soup

Meaning:

  • (Noun) An American way of saying a task is way too easy it is as if one is doing nothing. 
  • Example: Cleaning her room is duck’s soup for Kim. Cleaning the horse stables is a whole different story.

Goose Egg

Meaning:

  • (Noun) A sports slang for having a zero score.
  • Example: It’s impossible to have a goose egg score in a 40-minute basketball game.

Inconsequential

Meaning:

  • (Adjective) A person, thing, or event that does not matter.
  • Example: Middle children often feel overlooked and inconsequential in the family.

Milk and Water

Meaning:

  • (Noun) To lack skills to do things effectively.
  • Example: The new teacher is all milk and water except when it comes to teaching music. He has that fire in his eyes.

Minutiae

Meaning:

  • (Noun) The small and seemingly nothing details.
  • Example: If you had known the 90% of the minutiae of this job, you would not apply for this at all.

Nada

Meaning:

  • (Noun) A trendy way to say nothing, from Spanish.
  • Example: I can't go out with you tonight, pals. I'm broke. Nada.

Naught

Meaning:

  • (Noun) A formal way of saying nothing or all went to nothing.
  • Example: Unless you know what you’re really living for, beating yourself up for work everyday is all for naught. 

Nil 

Meaning:

  • (Noun) Especially in football games, to score a nil is to score zero.
  • Example: Their soccer club could have done better than to score a nil.

Whippersnapper

Meaning:

  • (Noun) A young person with no experience who’s talk is greater than s/he really is.
  • Example: Rather than being such a hollow whippersnapper, I would have wanted Kate to learn diligently about the fashion industry we are focusing on.

Wild Goose Chase

Meaning:

  • (Idiom) A hot pursuit of goals or dreams only to realize it’s useless or nothing.
  • Example: Honey can’t let her efforts be a wild goose chase. She will be a movie actress soon.

Zero 

Meaning:

  • (Noun) A numerical representation for nothing developed by early human civilizations.
  • Example: Tasha has zero interest to her one hundred suitors.

Zilch

Meaning:

  • (Adjective) An informal and conversational slang for empty..
  • Example: What can we do that’s cheap? Because my bank account is still zilch.

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