adjective / noun
null
An amount or result that is zero or too small to matter.
The new treatment produces a null result in the trial.
Etymology
The Latin adjective means none. In quantitative use, null describes an absent effect or a result treated as zero or negligible.
More examples
- Researchers report null findings as well as positive ones.
- We adjust the circuit until the meter reaches a null.
- The experiment shows a null effect on plant growth.
Forms
null · nulls
Similar words
- zero
- Means exactly nothing, rather than merely an insignificant amount.
- negligible
- Describes amounts small enough to ignore, not necessarily zero.