zilch, v.

zilch
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zilch_v%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2021

# zilchverb

## Factsheet

### What does the verb zilch mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the verb zilch. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

### How common is the verb zilch?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1950 | 0.0029
1960 | 0.0041
1970 | 0.0055
1980 | 0.0064
1990 | 0.0074
2000 | 0.0088
2010 | 0.01

### How is the verb zilch pronounced?

#### British English

/zɪltʃ/
zilch

#### U.S. English

/zɪltʃ/
zilch

### Where does the verb zilch come from?

Earliest known use

1950s

The earliest known use of the verb zilch is in the 1950s.

OED's earliest evidence for zilch is from 1957, in Del Rio (Texas) News-Herald.

It is also recorded as a noun from the 1920s.

zilch is formed within English, by conversion.

Etymons: zilch n.

### Nearby entries

1. zigzag connection, n. 1922–
2. zigzagged, adj. 1774–
3. zigzaggery, n. 1761–
4. zigzaggy, adj. a1845–
5. zigzag machine, n. 1952–
6. zigzag trefoil, n. 1796–
7. zig-zig, n. 1918–
8. Zika, n. 1952–
9. Zilavka, n. 1926–
10. zilch, n. & adj. 1925–
11. zilch, v.1957–
12. zill, n. 1754–
13. zilla, n. 1772–
14. -zilla, comb. form
15. zilladar, n. 1763–
16. Zil lane, n. 1985–
17. zilla parishad, n. 1957–
18. zillion, n. & adj. 1920–
19. zillionaire, n. 1926–
20. zillionth, n. & adj. 1940–
21. zimb, n. 1790–

## Etymology

### Summary

Formed within English, by conversion.
< zilch n.

## Meaning & use

slang (originally U.S.).

1. 1957–
   transitive. To defeat (an opponent in a game or match) such that their final score is zero. More generally: to defeat; to quash, to reduce to nothing. Cf. zip v.2
   1. 1957

      > The Bastrop club we face is the same crew that got zilched by the North Side (San Antonio) Jaycees.

      Del Rio (Texas) News-Herald 6 August 4/2
   2. 1969

      > Dartmouth also managed to take three contests from their opponents, zilching Penn 3–0.

      Naugatuck (Connecticut) Daily News 9 January 9/3
   3. 1978

      > One divorced woman zilched any sexual committments [sic] for years for the sake of her two teen-age girls.

      Eau Claire (Wisconsin) Leader-Telegram 30 June a6
   4. 2002

      > Imagine if the Houses of Parliament,..or the Sacré Coeur, or the Coliseum in Rome had been zilched.

      Times 22 February (T2 section) 7/1
   5. 2012

      > It would have been easy for us to give in and let him score but we didn't do that and we wanted to make sure we zilched them.

      Morley (West Yorks.) Observer & Advertiser (Nexis) 20 August
   sport U.S. English colloquial and slang
   1. overplay c1460–
      transitive. To surpass or overcome in playing; to defeat; to outplay. rare.
   2. smother 1676–
      Used hyperbolically to denote an effusive welcome, etc., or the gaining of a complete or overwhelming victory.
   3. lurch 1678
      transitive. To beat, in various games of skill, sometimes by a specified number or proportion of points. (See lurch, n.¹ 2.)
   4. outplay 1702–
      transitive. To play better than; to beat or surpass in playing (in various senses of the verb). Occasionally reflexive.
   5. thrash 1789–
      transitive. colloquial. To defeat (an opponent) easily or decisively in a game, competition, or other contest (originally esp. a physical fight).
   6. defeat 1830–
      transitive. To beat (another person, team, or animal) in a contest or competition, esp. a sporting event.
   7. spreadeagle 1832–
      transitive. Sport. To defeat completely, esp. by a considerable distance in a race.
   8. thresh 1852–
      transitive. To inflict a heavy defeat on (an army, nation, enemy, etc.) in a conflict or battle; to defeat (an opponent) easily or decisively in…
   9. whitewash 1867–
      transitive. colloquial (originally Baseball). In a game or contest: to beat (an opponent) in such a way that he or she fails to score. Also…
   10. blank 1870–
       To dismiss (a sports team) without a score; to prevent from scoring. North American.
   11. annihilate 1886–
       transitive. Sport. To defeat (an opponent) resoundingly or decisively.
   12. nip 1893–
       U.S. transitive. In a sporting contest: to defeat, esp. by a narrow margin.
   13. slam 1907–
       transitive. To beat by winning a slam; also dialect, to trump. Hence transferred, to beat completely.
   14. plaster 1919–
       transitive. slang. To defeat utterly; (esp. Boxing) to strike with repeated heavy blows.
   15. skittle 1919–
       To knock down (skittles, etc.); Cricket, to bowl out (batters) in rapid succession. Also figurative: to kill, defeat easily.
   16. rip 1927–
       transitive. U.S. Sport colloquial. To defeat (a competitor or team) overwhelmingly.
   17. maul 1928–
       transitive. In sport: to defeat (an opponent) utterly; to trounce.
   18. demolish 1938–
       figurative. transitive. colloquial (chiefly Sport). To defeat (a player, team, etc.) easily or overwhelmingly.
   19. massacre 1940–
       In weakened sense. transitive. Sport (originally U.S.). To defeat (a team or opponent) decisively.
   20. trounce 1942–
       To defeat heavily at a sport. colloquial.
   21. hammer 1948–
       figurative. To inflict heavy defeat(s) on, in war, games, etc.; to strike forcefully; to beat up. colloquial.
   22. murder 1952–
       transitive. slang (originally U.S.). To defeat (an opponent, rival, etc.) totally or resoundingly, esp. in a sporting match. Also in extended use.
   23. to shut out 1952–
       Baseball. (See quot. 1896. Cf. to shut out). Also transferred in other games and figurative. North American.
   24. zilch 1957–
       transitive. To defeat (an opponent in a game or match) such that their final score is zero. More generally: to defeat; to quash, to reduce to…
   25. zip 1964–
       transitive. U.S. colloquial. To defeat (an opponent in a game or match) without allowing them to score. Cf. zilch, v.
   26. trip 1974–
       spec. in U.S. Sport, to defeat.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. save?1801–
      Sport. transitive. To prevent the opposing side from scoring (a run, goal, etc.); (of a goalkeeper) to stop (a shot, etc.) from going into the goal…
   2. zilch 1957–
      transitive. To defeat (an opponent in a game or match) such that their final score is zero. More generally: to defeat; to quash, to reduce to…
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. thresh c1384–
      transitive. To inflict a heavy defeat on (an army, nation, enemy, etc.) in a conflict or battle; to defeat (an opponent) easily or decisively in…
   2. to knock the socks off a1529–
      Slang and colloquial phrases: to turn a sock; in one's socks, as a condition of measurement of stature; = to stand in one's stockings at stocking, n.²…
   3. thump 1597–
      figurative. To ‘beat’ (in a fight), to drub, lick, thrash severely. colloquial.
   4. thrash 1609–
      transitive. To inflict a heavy defeat on (an army, nation, enemy, etc.) in a conflict or battle. colloquial in later use.
   5. thwack a1616–
      figurative. To ‘beat’ in a contest, to defeat severely.
   6. capot 1649–
      transferred. To ‘score off’ (a person) heavily. Also as an imprecation capot me!
   7. to beat to snuff 1819–
      In colloquial phrases. to beat to snuff, to beat utterly.
   8. to knock into a cocked hat 1830–
      To injure or damage (someone or something) severely, irreparably, or beyond recognition; to maim or destroy in combat. Now somewhat rare.
   9. to —— (the) hell out of 1833–
      to —— (the) hell out of (a person or thing): to —— (a person or thing) to an excessive, violent, or unpleasant degree. Cf. to —— the fuck out of (a p…
   10. sledgehammer 1834–
       transitive to strike, work at, as with a sledgehammer.
   11. rout 1835–
       transitive. To defeat (an opposing party, team, etc.) resoundingly.
   12. whop 1836–
       figurative. To overcome, vanquish, defeat utterly (with literal blows, or in a contest of any kind); hence, to surpass or excel greatly: = beat, v.¹…
   13. skin 1838–
       transitive. slang (originally U.S.). To defeat or overcome completely; (Football (Soccer)) to take the ball past (a defender) with ease.
   14. to lick (a person or thing) into fits 1840–
       to lick (a person or thing) into fits: to defeat (a person) thoroughly; to be greatly superior to (something). Cf. fit, n.² 3d. Now somewhat rare.
   15. whip-saw 1842–
       (intransitive) to work a whip-saw; transitive to cut with a whip-saw; figurative (U.S. slang) to have or get the advantage of thoroughly, to…
   16. to lick (a person) out of his, her boots 1849–
       U.S. to lick (a person) out of his, her boots: to defeat (an opponent) comprehensively and completely.
   17. to knock (the) spots off 1850–
       colloquial (originally U.S., now chiefly British). to knock (the) spots off and variants: to beat thoroughly; to outdo easily.
   18. to make mincemeat of 1853–
       figurative. Something reduced to small fragments; a jumble, or clumsy mixture of such fragments. Frequently in to make mincemeat of and similar…
   19. to mop (up) the floor with 1875–
       transitive. colloquial. to mop (up) the floor with: to beat severely, to thrash; to inflict a crushing defeat on. Cf. to wipe the floor with at wipe…
   20. to beat pointless 1877–
       to beat pointless: to beat (an opponent) so thoroughly as to concede no points; (more generally) to beat convincingly or by a clear margin.
   21. to take apart 1880–
       transitive. To beat or thrash severely; to subject to severe or brutal criticism; to demolish (literal and figurative).
   22. to knock out 1883–
       figurative. To drive out of the contest; to vanquish, exhaust. Cf. to knock out of time at time, n. & int. & conj. phrases P.3m.ii.
   23. wax 1884–
       transitive. ‘To beat thoroughly, gain a decisive victory over’ (Funk).
   24. contund 1885–
       To bruise (the body), affect with contusions; to pound or thrash (adversaries). humorous or affected.
   25. to give (a person) fits 1885–
       Hence colloquial in various hyperbolical phrases, as to scream oneself into fits, to throw (a person) into fits. Also, to beat (a person, a thing)…
   26. to wipe the floor with 1887–
       Phrases (with various nouns as object). to wipe one's boots on: to inflict the utmost indignity upon. to wipe the floor with: to ‘bring to the…
   27. flatten 1892–
       colloquial. To knock (a person) down with a heavy blow, to ‘floor’; in extended use, to defeat utterly, best, rout. Also with out.
   28. to break it off in (a person) 1893–
       transitive with it as object, in to break it off in (a person). U.S. colloquial. To inflict deliberate harm, humiliation, or defeat upon (a person)…
   29. to knock (someone) for six 1902–
       Cricket. With omission of runs. Also transferred and figurative in various colloquial phrases: to knock (someone) for six, to wrench from a state of…
   30. slaughter 1903–
       To defeat or demolish completely. colloquial.
   31. slather 1910–
       slang. To thrash, defeat thoroughly, castigate.
   32. hammer 1948–
       figurative. To inflict heavy defeat(s) on, in war, games, etc.; to strike forcefully; to beat up. colloquial.
   33. whomp 1952–
       transitive. To defeat decisively.
   34. bulldozer 1954–
       transitive. To defeat (an opposing team, party, etc.) overwhelmingly or decisively. Also with down.
   35. zilch 1957–
       transitive. To defeat (an opponent in a game or match) such that their final score is zero. More generally: to defeat; to quash, to reduce to…
   36. shred 1966–
       figurative. To defeat overwhelmingly, to trounce. slang (originally U.S.).
   37. tank 1973–
       transitive. Chiefly Scottish and Irish English (northern). To defeat soundly. Cf. tonk, v. 2.
   38. slam-dunk 1975–
       transitive. colloquial. To dismiss or defeat (a person or thing) decisively.
   39. beast 1977–
       slang (originally and chiefly U.S.). transitive. To defeat (an opponent or rival) completely or resoundingly; to annihilate.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/zɪltʃ/
zilch

### U.S. English

/zɪltʃ/
zilch

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye*
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

* /d/ also represents a 'tapped' /t/ as in

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- ifleece, happy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- ætrap, bath
- ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
- ɑrstart
- ɔcloth, thought
- ɔrnorth, force
- ʊfoot
- ugoose
- əstrut, comma
- ərnurse, letter
- ɪ(ə)rnear
- ɛ(ə)rsquare
- ʊ(ə)rcure
- eɪface
- aɪpride
- aʊmouth
- oʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ɑ̃gratin
- æ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.

##### Consonants

b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values

- gguy
- jjay
- yyore
- chchore
- khloch
- shshore
- ththaw
- dhthee
- zhbeige

##### Vowels

- atrap
- ahpalm
- airsquare
- arstart
- arrcarry (British only)
- awthought
- ayface
- a(ng)gratin
- edress
- eefleece
- eerdeer
- errmerry
- ikit
- ighpride
- irrmirror
- olot (British only)
- ohgoat
- oogoose
- oorcure
- orforce
- orrsorry (British only)
- owmouth
- oyvoice
- o(ng)salon
- ustrut
- uhletter
- urnurse
- urrhurry
- uufoot

## Frequency

zilch typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

zilch is in frequency band 2, which contains words occurring between 0.001 and 0.01 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands

Frequency data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### Frequency of zilch, v., 1950–2010

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.

The overall frequency for a given word is calculated by summing frequencies for the main form of the word, any plural or inflected forms, and any major spelling variations.

For sets of homographs (distinct entries that share the same word-form, e.g. mole, n.¹, mole, n.², mole, n.³, etc.), we have estimated the frequency of each homograph entry as a fraction of the total Ngrams frequency for the word-form. This may result in inaccuracies.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the Google Books corpus.

Decade | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
1950 | 0.0029
1960 | 0.0041
1970 | 0.0055
1980 | 0.0064
1990 | 0.0074
2000 | 0.0088
2010 | 0.01

zilch, v. was revised in March 2021.

zilch, v. was last modified in July 2023.