Definition of ZILCH

zilch

Plural: zilches

Noun

  • Absolutely nothing; zero.
  • a quantity of no importance
    • "I didn't hear zilch about it"
  • A nobody: a person who is worthless in importance or character.
  • Nothing, zero.

Adj

  • No, zero, non-existent.

Verb

  • To cause to score nothing, to thoroughly defeat.

Examples

  • After a poor draw, his rack was ZILCH, offering no good plays.
  • Her search for decent home-made winter clothes came up with zilch, so she had to get imported stuff.

Origin / Etymology

Probably from Joe Zilch, a placeholder name (compare John Doe) used by Nunnally Johnson in his column in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle from 1923; in turn from Joe Zilch, an unseen character referenced in comedian Frank Tinney's stage routine. Compare the rare German surname Zilch.

Synonyms

aught, cipher, cypher, goose egg, nada, naught, nil, nix, nothing, null, zero, zip, zippo, Joe Nobody, absolute zero, also-ran, chopped liver, crumb, little guy, minnow, nebbish, no one, nobody, nonentity, nothingburger, peon, picayune, pip-squeak, pleb, prole, puny, quidam, rinky-dink, shrimp, shutout, wankstain, zilch

Scrabble Score: 19

zilch: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
zilch: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
zilch: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 20

zilch: valid Words With Friends Word