not for nothing
English · Thesaurus
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not for nothing
phrase
-
Not for no reason; not without reason; (often) for a good reason.
Not for nothing did he wait until a moment when Mommy wasn't home to ask for Daddy's permission to watch an R-rated movie.
Similar: with good reason · Opposite: for nothing, for no good reason
- Used to soften the impact of what is said next, implying that it is worthwhile or important. A: It's ridiculous how much they charge for insurance premiums around here. B: Not for nothing, when one out of four homeowners in an area has filed a claim within the past five years, premiums aren't gonna be cheap.
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see not, for, nothing. Why did he keep writing all those years for nothing? Not for nothing. For him.
Translations
Every language
phrase for an extremely good reason
| Deutsch | nicht umsonst |
|---|
Talk about this word "not for nothing." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/not%20for%20nothing. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. not for nothing. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/not%20for%20nothing "not for nothing." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/not%20for%20nothing.Cite this
@misc{not_for_nothing_2026,
title = {not for nothing},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/not%20for%20nothing},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
