come to nothing

verb

To fail completely; to have no result.

“The Bank of England's anti-inflation efforts will come to nothing if the US Federal Reserve refuse to join in the plan.”

Similar
come to noughtdie in the assgo to shit
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Meanings

verbcome to nothing (third-person singular simple present comes to nothing, present participle coming to nothing, simple past came to nothing, past participle come to nothing)

present singular third person comes to nothing · participle present coming to nothing · past came to nothing

  1. idiomaticTo fail completely; to have no result.

    The Bank of England's anti-inflation efforts will come to nothing if the US Federal Reserve refuse to join in the plan.

    2 more examples

    Another scheme for electrifying the Swansea & Mumbles also dates from 1898, and was connected with the proposal for the Gower Light Railway from Black Pill to Port Eynon, which came to nothing.

    1954 August, Charles E. Lee, “The Swansea & Mumbles Railway 150th Anniversary Celebrations”, in Railway Magazine, page 526

    Yet another road/railer trial that came to nothing.

    2022 May 18, Peter Robinson, “Rail freight: innovations... and failures”, in RAIL, number 957, page 54, photo caption

    Synonyms: come to nought, die in the ass, go to shit

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo fail completely; to have no result.

Similar
come to noughtdie in the assgo to shit
Also see
come to noughtcrash and burndie in the assfailgo to shitgo up in flamesgo up in smoke

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 失敗 /失败, 化為烏有 /化为乌有
  • 失敗 /失败 (shībài)fail; have no result
  • 化為烏有 /化为乌有 (huàwéiwūyǒu)fail; have no result
  • 不了了之 (bùliǎoliǎozhī)fail; have no result
  • 毫無結果 /毫无结果 (háowú jiéguǒ)fail; have no result
Czech přijít vniveč, vyjít naprázdno
  • přijít vnivečfail; have no result
  • vyjít naprázdnofail; have no result
Finnish mennä hukkaan
  • mennä hukkaanfail; have no result
French ne servir à rien
  • ne servir à rienfail; have no result
German im Sande verlaufen, es zu nichts bringen
  • im Sande verlaufenfail; have no result
  • es zu nichts bringenfail; have no result
  • zu nichts führenfail; have no result
Hungarian füstbe megy, kútba esik
  • füstbe megyfail; have no result
  • kútba esikfail; have no result
Latin pereō
  • pereōfail; have no result
Māori takahē
  • takahēfail; have no result
Polish nie prowadzić do niczego
  • nie prowadzić do niczegofail; have no result
Russian ни к чему́ не привести́
  • ни к чему́ не привести́ (ni k čemú ne privestí)fail; have no result
Spanish no servir para nada, quedar en nada
  • no servir para nadafail; have no result
  • quedar en nadafail; have no result
  • quedar en agua de borrajasfail; have no result
  • salir huerofail; have no result
Swedish gå om intet, rinna ut i sanden
  • gå om intetfail; have no result
  • rinna ut i sandenfail; have no result
  • gå i stöpetfail; have no result
Cite this entry
APA

come to nothing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20to%20nothing

MLA

“come to nothing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20to%20nothing. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “come to nothing,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20to%20nothing.

Source: come to nothing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.