noun

aught

The number zero.

The caller reads the number aloud as seven-aught-two.

Etymology

Naught expresses no quantity at all. The zero sense of aught continues that negative meaning, especially in spoken numbers and references to calendar years.

More examples

  • The rifle was described as a thirty-aught-six.
  • The documentary traces popular music in the early aughts.
  • His aught looked so much like a six that she misread it.

Forms

aught · aughts

Similar words

zero
Is the usual name for the number in modern American speech.
oh
Informally names zero when reading a sequence of digits.