nothing meaning

Phrases with “Nothing” (Meaning and Usuage)

Nothing is a word that can change meaning slightly depending on the context. In this article, you can find many phrases that include “nothing”

What does nothing really mean?

Nothing means “no thing” which really means the absence of that thing. 

What did you eat for dinner?

Nothing.( I ate not one piece of food)

Nothing at all meaning

Nothing at all means that there really is nothing. “At all” is an intensifier that can only be used with negative sentences. 

There is nothing in the fridge, Nothing at all.

I see nothing, nothing at all.

We use “nothing at all” to show that there isn’t even a little bit of something.  

“Nothing but” meaning 

“Nothing but” has a similar meaning to “only” or “solely”. “Nothing but” means that there is only one thing that will suffice. 

Nothing but the best for my son

Nothing but water will save me now.

The sentences above can be replaced by “only” and have the same meaning.

Only the best for my son

Only water will save me now.

In the second example, you can see that water is the one thing that will save the person. Nothing else will do.

Nothing can be further from the truth meaning

We use this expression when we want to say that something is completely untrue.

You stole the cutlery from the kitchen!

Nothing can be further from the truth! I actually bought more cutlery.

We often use this expression when something is not only untrue but is the opposite of the truth. 

Depending on the situation, you can also say ”nothing is further from the truth” and “nothing could be further from the truth”

Is it Farther or Further From the Truth?

In some contexts, you can use either further or farther but not in this case. The phrase is “Further from the truth”

Nothing compares to you meaning

“Nothing compares to you” means that there is nothing in the world that is like you. You can’t be replaced. It is a sweet thing to say to someone and became the title of a hit song written by Prince and made famous by Sinead O ‘Connor. 

Nothing else meaning

“Nothing else” means “not one more thing”. An example is when you choose one thing, then another thing but then there are no more things that you want to choose.

Do you want to buy a shirt?

Yes, a blue one.

Do you want to buy some trousers, or a coat or …?

No, no, nothing else

 

You need to only take medication when nothing else works.

Nothing fancy meaning

Nothing fancy means that you don’t want something special. The context could be about food, clothes, or accommodation.

What do you want to eat this evening?

Oh, nothing fancy, some boiled rice with vegetables.

 

What are you wearing to the party?

Nothing fancy.

Nothing fishy meaning 

“Nothing fishy” means that there is nothing suspicious happening.

Did you see Mark and Julie together at the park?

Oh, yeah, but there is nothing fishy happening.

Nothing good comes easy meaning

“Nothing good comes easy” means that you need to work for the good things in life. It is an idiomatic phrase so shouldn’t be changed from the form “Nothing good comes easy” 

I had to study 12 hours a day to become a doctor.

Nothing good comes easy!

Nothing lasts forever meaning

“Nothing lasts forever” means that the duration of everything has an endpoint. People often talk about love that lasts forever but people say” nothing lasts forever” when they want to point out that nothing can keep going because we are human.

John and I will be together forever!

Nothing lasts forever.

Nothing much meaning

“Nothing much” means that nothing of great significance is happening. People often use this phrase to say that they are available.

What are you doing this evening?

Nothing much. (I am open to your suggestions)

“Nothing much” can also be used to show that something is not important

What did you see at the top of the mountain?

There is nothing much up there.

Nothing new meaning

We use “nothing new” often to say that there is nothing new in our lives.

What’s up with you?

Nothing new.

This is a way to let the other person know that there are no new things happening in our lives.

Nothing on you meaning

There are two meanings for “nothing on you”

  1. You compare one person to another(you)
  2. The police have no evidence against you.

The first meaning is English slang. We use “nothing on you” when we are saying nice things about someone but then we don’t want the person we are talking to to feel bad so we say that they are better than the other person.

Sean is tall, smart, beautiful…… but he got nothing on you

Derek is so good at football, but he ain’t got nothing on you.

The second meaning is that the police or any other authority don’t have any evidence against you.

Police: You stole the woman’s bag.

Suspect: You have nothing on me.

Police: We have nothing on him.

Nothing out of the ordinary meaning

“Nothing out of the ordinary” is an expression that means that nothing strange is happening. Everything is normal.

We often use this when we are trying to figure out something about why something happened in the past.

Did Karen seem ok when you were talking to her. We haven’t seen her in 2 days.

Yes, she seemed fine, nothing out of the ordinary.

Nothing personal meaning

Nothing personal means that the criticism is not an attack on your character. 

Often when we receive criticism, our ego gets involved and we feel that somebody is criticising everything about us when they are just trying to help. We tend to take things personally.

“Nothing personal” is an expression that you can use when you want to say that your actions didn’t mean to harm the other person. Business is a good example of this expression.

We have to let you go. There is no more money to pay you. It’s nothing personal.

Nothing phases me/you meaning

“Nothing phases me” means that there is nothing that can overwhelm you and get you stressed. It is a nice compliment to give someone that means that they are calm under pressure.

I am very calm under pressure. Nothing phases me.

Wow, you are so chilled out, nothing phases you!

Nothing quite like it meaning

“Nothing quite like it” means that nothing compares,

We usually use “Nothing quite like it” when there is something we want to say that is really good and unique.

Living near the beach makes me feel so relaxed.

Yeah, there is nothing quite like it!

Nothing really meaning

“Nothing really” means that nothing of significance is happening. It is similar to “nothing much”.

What are you doing on Saturday?

Nothing really.

“Really” is an intensifier so it makes what you are talking about more intense.

Nothing really seems to make sense. 

Nothing really matters meaning

“Nothing really matters” means that there is no meaning in the world.

This phrase was made famous by the Metallica song “ Nothing really matters”

When someone says “Nothing really matters” they mean that whatever you are talking about has no significance.

Nothing short of meaning

“Nothing short of” is used to emphasize an adjective. This is also called an intensifier. 

That shot was nothing short of miraculous.

She is nothing short of amazing.

The phrase “nothing short of” works as a double negative that builds suspension and amazement to intensify an adjective.

Nothing special meaning

“Nothing special” means that something doesn’t have unique or excellent features.

What do you think of Neymar? 

He is good but nothing special.

 

What are your plans this Christmas?

Nothing special, I will probably just stay at home with my family.

Nothing to see meaning

“Nothing to see” means that there is nothing special to see in a certain place.

There is nothing to see on that side of the mountain.

“Nothing to see” is a phrase that the police might use if there is an accident and they don’t want people to stare.

Nothing to see here, Please move on.

Nothing unusual meaning

“Nothing unusual” means that everything is normal. Nothing strange is happening.

We also use “nothing unusual to describe situations that are normal.

What happened at work yesterday?

Nothing unusual.

 

There is nothing unusual for a man to wear pink shorts.

Nothing urgent meaning

“Nothing urgent” means that you don’t have to do something immediately.

Oh sorry John, I forgot to do the invoices.

Don’t worry, it’s nothing urgent.

Nothing untoward meaning

“Nothing untoward” means that nothing strange, bad, murky or unexpected happened.

There is nothing untoward about his appearance.

A fight broke out but there was nothing untoward about it.

There is nothing untoward about him.

Nothing ventured nothing gained 

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained” means that unless you try something, you will never succeed. 

We often use this phrase when someone fails and needs some motivation. 

I tried to get into Harvard but they didn’t accept me.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. 

Nothing yet meaning

Nothing yet means that up until this point, nothing has happened or changed.

You ain’t seen nothing yet.

 

Have you heard anything from Carol?

No, nothing yet.

Conor