for nothing

for nothing

1. For no money or other exchange; without charge. Because we had such an awful experience, the manager offered to give us our meal for nothing. I'm willing to give you the furniture for nothing as long as you can come and collect it.

2. Without a meaningful or successful outcome. I can't believe they shut the project down. Four months of work for nothing.

3. For no purpose or reason. People don't call me Mr. Green Thumb for nothing! This isn't a big deal! You're getting mad for nothing.

See also: nothing

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

for ˈnothing

1 without paying; free: We got into the concert for nothing because my uncle works there. ♢ They were giving packets of sweets away for nothing at the supermarket this morning.
2 (do something and) not achieve what you wanted; (do something) for no reason or purpose: All that hard work for nothing! ♢ When I got to Berlin, he’d already left. I’d made the journey for nothing.

See also: nothing

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

for nothing

1. Free of charge.

2. To no avail: all that trouble for nothing.

3. For no reason: fired him for nothing.

See also: nothing

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.