void
An empty space; a vacuum.
Adjective
- Containing nothing; empty; not occupied or filled.
- Today's youth's brains are sucked void of common sense.
- I'll get me to a place more void. - 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
- And the earth was without forme, and voyd, and darkeneſſe was vpon the face of the deepe: and the Spirit of God mooued vpon the face of the waters. - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert...
Synonyms: vacant unfilled empty empty as a pauper's purse empty as the tomb on Easter clean leer toom vacuumlike vacuous void
- Having no incumbent; unoccupied; said of offices etc.
- divers great offices that had been long void - 1625, Francis [Bacon], Apophthegmes New and Old. […], London: […] Hanna Barret, and Richard Whittaker, […], →OCLC:
- Being without; destitute; devoid.
- Suppoſe they be in number infinit, Yet being voyd of Martiall diſcipline, All running headlong after greedie ſpoiles: […] Their careleſſe ſwords ſhal lanch their fellows throats And make vs triumph in their ouerthrow. -...
- He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbor. - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 11:12:
- I envy not in any moods The captive void of noble rage, The linnet born within the cage, That never knew the summer woods: […] - 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XXVII”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […],...
Synonyms: bereft of destitute of absent awanting deficient of deprived of devoid of lacking leer poor in robbed of shorn of stripped of void of wanting
- Not producing any effect; ineffectual; vain.
- [My word] shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please. - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 55:11:
- I will make void the counsel of Judah. - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Jeremy 19:7:
Synonyms: pointless useless bootless barren futile fruitless gainless idle inane ineffectual inefficacious inutile no good otiose profitless purposeless tired unavailing unprofitable unuseful unutilizable vain void
- Of no legal force or effect, incapable of confirmation or ratification.
- null and void
- Taiwan's government says that as the island has never been ruled by the People's Republic of China, its sovereignty claims are void. - 2022 September 21, Martin Pollard, Ben Blanchard, “China willing to make utmost...
- Containing no immaterial quality; destitute of mind or soul.
- And senseless words she gave, and sounding strain, / But senseless, lifeless! idol void and vain! - 1728, Alexander Pope, “Book II”, in The Dunciad; republished in The Complete Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, Boston,...
- Of a function or method, that does not return a value; being a procedure rather than a function.
- In particular, the roll method is void — it has no return value. - 2005, Craig Larman, Applying UML and patterns:
- The return value can safely be ignored if it is a void function. - 2007, Andrew Krause, Foundations of GTK+ Development:
- Having no cards in a particular suit.
Origin
From Middle English voide, voyde, from Old French vuit, voide, vuide (modern vide), in turn from Vulgar Latin *vocitum, ultimately from Latin vacuus.
Noun Entry 2
- An empty space; a vacuum.
- Nobody has crossed the void since one man died trying three hundred years ago; it's high time we had another go.
- Pride, where Wit fails, steps in to our defence, / And fills up all the mighty void of Sense. - 1711, Alexander Pope, “Part II”, in An Essay on Criticism, lines 9–10; republished in The Complete Poetical Works of...
- An extended region of space containing no galaxies.
- A collection of adjacent vacancies inside a crystal lattice.
- A pocket of vapour inside a fluid flow, created by cavitation.
- An empty space between floors or walls, including false separations and planned gaps between a building and its facade.
- A black cat.
- My little void is so sweet sometimes.
Antonyms: cloud
- An empty place; a location that has nothing useful.
- From the logistics hub, the spoil will be taken by rail to Barrington in Cambridgeshire, Cliffe in Kent, and Rugby in Warwickshire. It will be used to fill voids at these locations which will then be used for housing...
- The lack of cards in a particular suit.
- A cavity or empty space caused by water erosion.
- A hidden void caused by a partially buried pipe being damaged by a tamper during routine maintenance led to the derailment of a passenger train. […] The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) reported that a "large...
- An instance of urination.
Forms
Synonyms
Hyponyms
Derived
legal void null and void trial of void void coefficient void deck
Noun archaic, historical
- A voidee.
- Late on the final evening, as the customary ‘void’ – spiced wine and sweetmeats – was served, more elaborate disguisings in the great hall culminated in the release of a flock of white doves. - 2011, Thomas Penn, Winter...
Origin
Alteration of voidee.
Forms
Verb
- To make invalid or worthless.
- Near-synonym: nullify
- He voided the check and returned it.
- Opening this subassembly will void the warranty; there are no user-serviceable parts inside it.
Synonyms: nullify
- Synonym of empty (verb).
- void one’s bladder
- void one’s bowels
Synonyms: empty
- To throw or send out; to evacuate; to emit; to discharge.
- to void excrement
- You, that did void your rheum upon my beard, And foot me as you spurn a stranger cur - c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, &...
- With shovel, like a fury, voided out / The earth and scattered bones. - 1612, John Webster, The White Devil:
- To withdraw; to depart.
- BY than come in to the feld kynge Ban as fyers as a lyon[…]/ Ha a said kyng Lot we must be discomfyte / for yonder I see the moste valyaunt knyght of the world / and the man of the most renoume / for suche ij bretheren...
- To remove the contents of; to make or leave vacant or empty; to quit; to leave.
- to void a table
- If they will fight with us, bid them come down, / Or void the field. - 1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First...