null

1 of 3

adjective

ˈnəl

: having no legal or binding force : invalid

a null contract

: amounting to nothing : nil

the null uselessness of the wireless transmitter that lacks a receiving station

Fred Majdalany

: having no value : insignificant

… news as null as nothing …

Emily Dickinson

: having no elements (see element sense b(3))

null set

: having zero as a limit

null sequence

of a matrix : having all elements equal to zero

: indicating usually by a zero reading on a scale when a given quantity (such as current or voltage) is zero or when two quantities are equal

—used of an instrument

: being or relating to a method of measurement in which an unknown quantity (as of electric current) is compared with a known quantity of the same kind and found equal by a null detector

: of, being, or relating to zero

The meter gave a null reading.

: zero sense 1c

null

2 of 3

noun

: zero sense 3a(1)

: a condition of a radio receiver when minimum or zero signal is received

: a minimum or zero value of an electric current or of a radio signal

null

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verb

nulled; nulling; nulls

transitive verb

: to make null

Did you know?

English borrowed null from the Anglo-French nul, meaning "not any." That word, in turn, traces to the Latin word nullus, from ne-, meaning "not," and ullus, meaning "any." Null often pops up in legal and scientific contexts. It was originally used in Scottish law and still carries the meaning "having no legal or binding force." In mathematics, it is sometimes used to mean "containing nothing"; for example, the set of all whole numbers that are divisible by zero is the "null set" (that is, there are no numbers that fit that description). But null also has some more general uses. We often use it with the meaning "lacking meaning or value," as in "By the time I heard it, the news was null."

Example Sentences

Adjective the contract was null because one party forgot to sign it that information is as null as no information at all Verb asked the state court to null the election results because of widespread voting irregularities

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Passages of time between scenes, though marked by apt interstitial music (sound design by Justin Ellington), are too often visually null, letting the narrative energy sag.

Jesse Green, New York Times, 20 Oct. 2022 Finally, tight lending standards coupled with a strong economy meant the potential for distressed selling was null.

Bylance Lambert, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2022 Some researchers believe that the models could yet be modified to escape the constraints placed on them by the experiments’ null results.

Philip Ball, Quanta Magazine, 20 Oct. 2022 On Sunday, da Silva, known universally as Lula, obtained 48.4% of valid votes, which excludes blank and null ballots, while Bolsonaro got 43.2%, according to Brazil’s electoral authority.

Carla Bridi, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Oct. 2022 According to the researchers, an additional 90 galaxies with less extreme heat-to-light ratios warrant further study but, by and large, the results are null.

Lee Billings, Scientific American, 17 Apr. 2015 After foreclosure, any existing lease agreement is null because the ownership transfers to the Treasurer's Office, Sabree said.

Nushrat Rahman, Detroit Free Press, 23 Aug. 2022 If the result is null, the account exists on the system, but no one has yet signed in using it.

Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 22 July 2022 To be assigned a Quality Score, though, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

Charles Rotblut, Forbes, 7 July 2022

Noun

In her affidavit, Butler says the party should declare the runoff null and hold a new one between her and Harrison.

Mike Cason | Mcason@al.com, al, 8 July 2022 Do not be alarmed when informed that the weather (chilly) and probability of establishing a security perimeter in the Park (null) have persuaded diplomats to reconsider stroll.

Zach Helfand, The New Yorker, 9 May 2022 In another measure of political disillusionment, more than three million people cast blank or null-and-void ballots — and that does not include the 13.7 million who opted not to vote at all.

New York Times, 26 Apr. 2022 Since then, Summer has interacted with the Duttons a number of times, but hints at a burgeoning relationship were pretty much null.

Rebecca Norris, Country Living, 13 Mar. 2022 Doing side lying leg raises incorrectly will miss your Gluteus Medius and further strengthen an already strong TFL which does not help prevent pelvic drop, making your time invested into doing the side lying leg lift exercise null.

Jon-erik Kawamoto, Outside Online, 26 Mar. 2020 Language is about words, but also about context and structure, and sometimes those things render specificity null.

New York Times, 11 Nov. 2021 The concept of a null set is extremely useful in mathematics.

Martin Goldstern, Scientific American, 16 Aug. 2021 Some undecided voters, like Sao Paulo resident Mauricio Soares, are choosing to vote null or blank.

Juliana Koch, Philip Wang And Rodrigo Pedroso, CNN, 5 Aug. 2021

Verb

Ricart understood the changing dynamics in college football and was careful to include a contingency that would null the truck’s lease should Ewers transfer.

Jessica Rodriguez, Journal Sentinel, 8 Oct. 2022 Ricart understood the changing dynamics in college football and was careful to include a contingency that would null the truck’s lease should Ewers transfer.

Laine Higgins, WSJ, 9 Dec. 2021 China will likely avoid gross and blatant expropriation but will change regulation either to dilute ownership, reclassify ownership, or null out bond and stock values for heavily indebted companies.

Anne Stevenson-yang, Forbes, 1 Sep. 2021 Miley threw 51/3 perfect innings, nulled three runners in the seventh and tried to complete a shutout in the ninth.

Hunter Atkins, Houston Chronicle, 24 July 2019 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'null.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.