come to naught

idiom

old-fashioned
: to be unsuccessful : to not achieve what something was intended to do
All our efforts came to naught.

Examples of come to naught in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Even when Amor offers to empty her bank account for Salome and Lukas, the promise has come too late, or come to naught. James Wood, The New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2021 Attempts to forge an international ban on autonomous weapons have so far come to naught. WIRED, 23 Feb. 2023 The promise of cryptocurrency lenders serving as a modern-day digital bank has come to naught. Jacob Carpenter, Fortune, 23 Jan. 2023 What becomes apparent, for example, is that Johnson, Caro, and Gottlieb suffered deeply from the chiding of their furious fathers, who reckoned that their sons would come to naught, and who have since been proved magnificently wrong. Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2023 There is a nonzero chance that Trump’s bid to reclaim the throne will come to naught. Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 3 Dec. 2022 When Biden finally called bin Zayed last month, he was told that the time was not right, and promises from both sides to reschedule have so far come to naught. Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2022 Sanofi had declined to purchase V591 and instead pursued its own research, which to date has come to naught, aside from a few grandiose PR statements. John R. MacArthur, Harper’s Magazine , 7 Dec. 2021 The Russian leader has a history of brinkmanship and prior buildups on the border have come to naught. Jennifer Jacobs, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Nov. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'come to naught.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near come to naught

Cite this Entry

“Come to naught.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/come%20to%20naught. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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