/dev/null
English
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
/dev/null
Where it comes from
From Unix operating systems, where /dev (the Unix directory containing device files) contains a null entry representing no device.
proper noun dev null · dev-null · devnull
- A device file, present in Unix and Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, that discards all data written to it and yields no output, always presenting as an empty file when read. It's possible to suppress the compiler's warnings by redirecting standard error to /dev/null.
- Nowhere; often suggests an intent to ignore specific correspondence. Thoughtful discussion and criticism is welcomed, but please send all flames to dev null.
Talk about this word "/dev/null." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/%2Fdev%2Fnull. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. /dev/null. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/%2Fdev%2Fnull "/dev/null." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/%2Fdev%2Fnull.Cite this
@misc{dev_null_2026,
title = {/dev/null},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/%2Fdev%2Fnull},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
