zilch
noun · adjective · verb
Simple meaning
Complete absence of anything.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
zilchIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈzɪltʃ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
uncountableinformal
Nothing, zero.
adjective
informalchiefly us
No, zero, non-existent.
verb
informalUS sports
To cause to score nothing, to thoroughly defeat.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (informal, US sports) To cause to score nothing, to thoroughly defeat.
Used this way, zilch is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. This is a sporting use: familiar to anyone who follows the game, and puzzling to anyone who does not.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Casual
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Careful and exacting
- Usage feel
- Casual and conversational
Where it naturally appears
- Sports
- News/reporting
- Everyday conversation
- Social media/informal writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.