Suppose I send you a letter and ask you a question. a) If you send me back the letter with nothing written on it --> empty string b) If you don't send anything back --> NULL EDIT: To incorporate what u/glutier said: In scenario a, I would be able to compare your answer with others (and maybe group you with others who have no opinion on the matter). Whereas in scenario B, I cannot assume anything about your response and therefore cannot compare you to anyone. Answer from spkn89 on reddit.com
null
/nŭl/
adjective
  1. Having no legal force; invalid.
    render a contract null and void.
  2. Of no consequence, effect, or value; insignificant.
  3. Amounting to nothing; absent or nonexistent.
    a null result.
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition. More at Wordnik
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Merriam-Webster
merriam-webster.com › dictionary › null
NULL Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
November 4, 2025 - The meaning of NULL is having no legal or binding force : invalid. How to use null in a sentence. Did you know?
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Null
Null - Wikipedia
2 weeks ago - Null character, the zero-valued ASCII character, also designated by NUL, often used as a terminator, separator or filler.
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MDN Web Docs
developer.mozilla.org › en-US › docs › Glossary › Null
Null - Glossary | MDN
In computer science, a null value represents a reference that points, generally intentionally, to a nonexistent or invalid object or address. The meaning of a null reference varies among language implementations.
Discussions

ELI5: What is Null?
Suppose I send you a letter and ask you a question. a) If you send me back the letter with nothing written on it --> empty string b) If you don't send anything back --> NULL EDIT: To incorporate what u/glutier said: In scenario a, I would be able to compare your answer with others (and maybe group you with others who have no opinion on the matter). Whereas in scenario B, I cannot assume anything about your response and therefore cannot compare you to anyone. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/explainlikeimfive
3
2
January 8, 2013
What is Null?
This was intended as a meme but is actually a good representation of what "Null" is. In C#, when you declare string s = "My shit"; it means that "s" is a reference to a memory location that holds the data "My shit". string s = null; means that the reference "s" exists but it's not pointing to any object, as in it holds nothing. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/learnprogramming
60
34
July 5, 2024
Theoretically how would Null Caliph be use? : RogueTraderCRPG
🌐 r/RogueTraderCRPG
What is /r/null?

"null" is commonly used in software to mean nothing.

r/null is a gimmick subreddit with a stylesheet that makes it look like an empty page.

More on reddit.com
🌐 r/OutOfTheLoop
4
2
May 14, 2014
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Dictionary.com
dictionary.com › browse › null
NULL Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com
November 28, 2025 - NULL definition: without value, effect, consequence, or significance. See examples of null used in a sentence.
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Cambridge Dictionary
dictionary.cambridge.org › us › dictionary › english › null
NULL | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary
2 weeks ago - NULL meaning: 1. having no legal force: 2. with no value or effect: 3. (of a set or matrix) containing nothing…. Learn more.
Find elsewhere
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RDocumentation
rdocumentation.org › packages › base › versions › 3.6.2 › topics › NULL
NULL function - RDocumentation
NULL represents the null object in R: it is a reserved word. NULL is often returned by expressions and functions whose value is undefined.
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Vocabulary.com
vocabulary.com › dictionary › null
Null - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms | Vocabulary.com
Null means having no value; in other words null is zero, like if you put so little sugar in your coffee that it’s practically null. Null also means invalid, or having no binding force.
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Safe
docs.safe.com › fme › html › FME-Form-Documentation › FME-Terminology › Confluence-Topics › null__NULL__Null___null_.htm
null, NULL, Null,
In both cases, it means that “we don’t know, yet, what value this has.” Any data type can be null, including numeric, string, Boolean, and so forth.
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MDN Web Docs
developer.mozilla.org › en-US › docs › Web › JavaScript › Reference › Operators › null
null - JavaScript | MDN
October 28, 2025 - The null keyword refers to the null primitive value, which represents the intentional absence of any object value.
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Null_sign
Null sign - Wikipedia
June 13, 2025 - The null sign (∅) is a symbol often used in mathematics for denoting the empty set. The same letter in linguistics represents zero, the lack of an element. It is commonly used in phonology, morphology, and syntax.
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Quora
quora.com › What-exactly-is-NULL
What exactly is NULL? - Quora
Answer (1 of 25): It means nothing. Most literally. It means that it has no meaning. It can best be understood when dealing with dates and numbers. Alpha-numeric NULL is awkward and not really accurate, as it differentiates between a blank string and the lack of value represented by NULL. With ...
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Null Games
null.com
Null
Null will return
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TypeScript
typescriptlang.org › docs › handbook › 2 › everyday-types.html
TypeScript: Documentation - Everyday Types
JavaScript has two primitive values used to signal absent or uninitialized value: null and undefined.
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Null's
nulls.gg
Null's — private servers
Null's — one of the most popular private servers for Brawl, Clash, Royale and other!
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W3Schools
w3schools.com › sql › sql_null_values.asp
SQL NULL Values - IS NULL and IS NOT NULL
ADD ADD CONSTRAINT ALL ALTER ALTER COLUMN ALTER TABLE AND ANY AS ASC BACKUP DATABASE BETWEEN CASE CHECK COLUMN CONSTRAINT CREATE CREATE DATABASE CREATE INDEX CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW CREATE TABLE CREATE PROCEDURE CREATE UNIQUE INDEX CREATE VIEW DATABASE DEFAULT DELETE DESC DISTINCT DROP DROP COLUMN DROP CONSTRAINT DROP DATABASE DROP DEFAULT DROP INDEX DROP TABLE DROP VIEW EXEC EXISTS FOREIGN KEY FROM FULL OUTER JOIN GROUP BY HAVING IN INDEX INNER JOIN INSERT INTO INSERT INTO SELECT IS NULL IS NOT NULL JOIN LEFT JOIN LIKE LIMIT NOT NOT NULL OR ORDER BY OUTER JOIN PRIMARY KEY PROCEDURE RIGHT JOIN ROWNUM SELECT SELECT DISTINCT SELECT INTO SELECT TOP SET TABLE TOP TRUNCATE TABLE UNION UNION ALL UNIQUE UPDATE VALUES VIEW WHERE MySQL Functions
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Dart
dart.dev › null-safety
Sound null safety
August 7, 2025 - With sound null safety, all variables require a value. This means Dart considers all variables non-nullable. You can assign values of the declared type only, like int i=42. You can never assign a value of null to default variable types. To specify that a variable type can have a null value, add a ?
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Etymonline
etymonline.com › word › null
Null - Etymology, Origin & Meaning
"void of legal force, invalid," 1560s, from French nul, from Latin nullus "not any,… See origin and meaning of null.
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Processing
processing.org › reference › null.html
null / Reference / Processing.org
Special value used to signify the target is not a valid data element. In Processing, you may run across the keyword null when trying to access data which is not there.