for nothing

adv — 3 senses

for nothing

adv

1

For free.

I got it for nothing. They are giving them away as publicity.

› For no reason.

2

In vain, uselessly, wastefully, or pointlessly.

I wrote ten pages of information for nothing. He just chucked it in a drawer without reading it!

3

Without cause or without due cause.

A: Then he walked up to me and shoved me. B: What the hell? What for? A: For nothing!
A: Then she filed suit against the restaurant. B: What the hell? For what? A: For nothing! Not so much for allegedly being negligent as for having some money that she might shake down!

Related terms: what for, for what

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.