What does nil mean?
Nil means no amount, no value, or no result at all. It is especially associated with British English, where it appears in formal and institutional contexts such as reports, legal documents, and sports coverage, but it is also understood in American English and in computing. As a noun, nil is more emphatic than an ordinary “zero” because it indicates the complete absence of something rather than merely a numerical point. As an adjective, it characterizes something that yields nothing: a nil return, for example, records no profit or income. In conversation, “nil chance” adds a slightly informal, often British flavor to the statement that there is no possibility. In programming, nil denotes a null or absent value, though its exact behavior depends on the language. Nil can therefore sound both judicial and distinctly everyday: a business performance can be officially nil, while a sporting side can be dismissed as having a nil chance. Its direct Latin ancestry also makes it one of English’s clearest links to a classical word for “nothing.”
The absence of any amount, value, effect, or result; zero or nothing.
"The audit recorded a nil return on the investment."
Common in British English, particularly in official, legal, financial, and sporting contexts. The plural is rare.
Denoting the absence of a result, value, gain, effect, or return.
"The inspector submitted a nil return."
Used chiefly in established expressions such as “nil return” and “nil probability.”
The plural is rare; nil is normally used in the singular as an abstract term.
"The team's previous three results were nills."
Nil comes directly from the Latin word for “nothing”—a remarkably literal name for the total absence of something.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does nil come from?
Nil was borrowed into English from the Latin nil, meaning “nothing,” by the early modern period. Latin nil is closely related to nihil, the source of English words such as nihilism and nihilistic. The English word was initially associated with mathematical zero and was later extended to mean no result, value, gain, or return.
Related word forms
How nil is actually used
Nil is especially common in British English and has a formal, often institutional tone in legal, financial, and official contexts. The informal phrase “nil chance” is also particularly associated with British and Commonwealth usage. In computing, nil and null overlap but are not always interchangeable.
Easily confused with nil
In programming discussions, nil commonly denotes an absent value, while null usually refers specifically to a null value or null reference.