Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

nothing but

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.52 in modern English

Syllables: noth-ing but
IPA

16

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adv

Only.

Example Sentences

"Near-synonyms: nothing less than; nothing if not (in some usages)"
"Do you solemnly swear that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"
"a right in nothing but name"
"In an attempt to lose weight and improve his relationship with food, Andrew Taylor has decided to eat nothing but potatoes for a year."
""It's because they're hos," she told Owens. "If you don't run out of the room and go, 'Excuse me, you don't do that to me,' and leave, but you stayed around because you're like, 'Well, I thought maybe he was going to give me a writing job,' well, you aren't nothing but a ho.""

Etymology

From Middle English nothyng but, from Old English nan þing butan

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: nothyng, nan

Phrases

nothing but net nothing-buttery

Synonyms

absolutely all-out tout à fait all the way stone-cold blind altogether stark cold at large at length cap-a-pie

Questions

What does nothing but mean?: Only.
Where does nothing but come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce nothing but

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “nothing but”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “nothing but” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.