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
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. Answer from abd53 on reddit.com
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Merriam-Webster
merriam-webster.com › dictionary › null
NULL Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
3 weeks ago - 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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Cambridge Dictionary
dictionary.cambridge.org › dictionary › english › null
NULL | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
1 week ago - NULL definition: 1. having no legal force: 2. with no value or effect: 3. (of a set or matrix) containing nothing…. Learn more.
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MDN Web Docs
developer.mozilla.org › en-US › docs › Glossary › Null
Null - Glossary | MDN - Mozilla
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

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
ELI5:What is the difference between 'null' and 'void'?
A contract is null if it's completely nonsensical or illegal to begin with. By virtue of it being null, it is void. A legal contract however, is not null, but it may stipulate terms in which it would later become void - for instance, me forcing you at gunpoint to sign a contract to hand over your assets to me would be a null contract, but you voluntarily signing the contract out of free will would not be null, but you may say that this handover only occurs if I am proven to be your kin. Failing that, the contract is void. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/explainlikeimfive
3
1
December 27, 2014
What does "null" mean?

null is when a variable has no value

More on reddit.com
🌐 r/baconreader
2
0
May 17, 2013
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
May 8, 2013
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Dictionary.com
dictionary.com › browse › null
NULL Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com
NULL definition: without value, effect, consequence, or significance. See examples of null used in a sentence.
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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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Wiktionary
en.wiktionary.org › wiki › null
null - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Something that has no force or meaning. (computing) The null character; the ASCII or Unicode character (␀), represented by a zero value, which indicates no character and is sometimes used as a string terminator.
Find elsewhere
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Oxford English Dictionary
oed.com › dictionary › null_adj
null, adj. meanings, etymology and more | Oxford English Dictionary
There are 13 meanings listed in OED's entry for the adjective null, one of which is labelled obsolete.
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Collins Dictionary
collinsdictionary.com › dictionary › english › null
NULL definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary
February 9, 2026 - 6 meanings: 1. without legal force; invalid; (esp in the phrase null and void) 2. without value or consequence; useless 3..... Click for more definitions.
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Longman
ldoceonline.com › dictionary › null
null | meaning of null in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English | LDOCE
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishnullnull /nʌl/ adjective → null and voidExamples from the Corpusnull• He decided that the marriage was null and void.• Figure 8.5 Projections of two neighbouring null geodesics on to the plane.• The use of the null hypothesis does have one very practical use.• The researcher may actually expect that the null hypothesis is faulty and should be rejected in favor of the alternative H1.• The null hypothesis that can then be tested by using the F distribution as explained in chapter 3.• This gives variables of exactly known distribution,
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Null_(mathematics)
Null (mathematics) - Wikipedia
February 4, 2026 - In mathematics, the word null (from German: null meaning "zero", which is from Latin: nullus meaning "none") is often associated with the concept of zero, or with the concept of nothing.
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YourDictionary
yourdictionary.com › home › dictionary meanings › null definition
Null Definition & Meaning | YourDictionary
A null result. ... Of or relating to a set having no members or to zero magnitude. ... A non-existent or empty value or set of values. ... An instrument reading of zero. ... Zero; nothing. ... Something that has no force or meaning.
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Khoury College of Computer Sciences
khoury.northeastern.edu › home › kenb › MeaningOfNull.html
The Meaning of Null in Databases and Programming Languages
On the other hand, the usual meaning of a default value is that it is the value one should use in the absence of any other value being available. That certainly is true in this case, so there is a good argument for using the default value. The field has a value but it is not within the domain. For example, a form requesting an ethnic group does not include the one to which a person most closely identifies. The NULL in this case represents "none of the above" or "other".
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WordReference
wordreference.com › english dictionary › null
null - WordReference.com Dictionary of English
null - WordReference English dictionary, questions, discussion and forums. All Free.
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Encyclopedia Britannica
britannica.com › dictionary › null
Null Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary
NULL meaning: having no legal power often used in the phrase {phrase}null and void{/phrase}
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UpCounsel
upcounsel.com › legal-def-of-null
Check out this article...What Does Null Mean in Court and Contract Law?
April 23, 2025 - In court, "null" means that a legal act, document, or contract is invalid and has no binding legal effect, as though it never existed.
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TechTerms
techterms.com › definition › null
Null Definition - What does null mean to a computer?
September 26, 2022 - Null, in computing terms, refers to the absence of a value. It does not mean a value of 0, since 0 is itself a value, nor does it mean a blank space " ".
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Null
Null - Wikipedia
3 weeks ago - Null (SQL) (or NULL), a special marker and keyword in SQL indicating that a data value does not exist, is not known, or is missing.
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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, none," from ne- "not, no" (from PIE root *ne- "not") + illus "any," diminutive of unus "one" (from PIE root *oi-no- "one, unique").