nul point
- noun
- UK
:
nul point
- After a disastrous performance, the judges gave the act nul point.
Examples
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The phrase nul point is often heard during the Eurovision Song Contest.
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To her embarrassment, her trivia team ended up with nul point at the end of the night.
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The team received a nul point in the final match.
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After the performance, they ended with nul points.
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The singer was disappointed to receive nul point at the contest, as she had hoped to impress the judges.
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After a disappointing performance, the team finished the tournament with nul point, marking the worst score in its history.
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When the scoring ended, the country realized it had received nul point, leaving the fans in shock.
Synonyms
46
1.0
The point on a scale that marks no amount, for example the freezing temperature of water
30
8.3
The state of having no value, result, or importance
3
8.1
A score or total of zero
2
1.4
A game in which neither team has any points
Antonyms
How Many
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a score of zero' is directly derived from combining 'nul' (zero) with 'point' (a scoring unit); the compound literally denotes zero points. Although 'nul' is a less common or loaned form in English, if a B1 learner knows both constituent meanings the overall sense is immediately recoverable and cross-linguistically supported.
Etymology
Nul point comes from French: nul meant 'no' and point meant 'point', and in song contests like the Eurovision Song Contest the voting boards could show 'nul' or 'zero' for a performer. That's why the phrase now means 'a score of zero'.