English Explanatory Dictionary

nothingburger

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. An unimportant person; a nobody, a nonentity.
  2. Something of less importance than its treatment suggests; also, something which is bland or unremarkable in appearance or impact.
  3. A matter of no concern, especially one that had been of concern; a non-issue.
adj
  1. Of less importance than its treatment suggests; insignificant, unimportant; also, bland or unremarkable in appearance or impact.

Pronunciation

/ˈnʌθɪŋbəːɡə/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-nothingburger.wav /ˈnʌθɪŋˌbəɹɡəɹ/

Word forms

nothingburger nothingburgers nothing-burger nothing burger

Etymology

The noun is derived from nothing (pronoun, noun) + -burger (suffix forming names of hamburgers served in buns with the addition of specified foodstuffs, or with foodstuffs in place of the usual meat), a metaphorical reference to a burger missing a patty—its most significant component. The word was apparently coined by the American gossip columnist Louella Parsons (1881–1972) in her widely syndicated daily column “Louella’s Move-Go-’Round” of June 1, 1953: see the quotation. The adjective is derived from the noun.

Synonyms

absolute zero also-ran chopped liver cipher crumb Joe Nobody little guy minnow nebbish nobody no one nothing nothingburger nonentity picayune pip-squeak pleb peon prole puny quidam rinky-dink shrimp wankstain zero zilch nothing sandwich unthing bagatelle bag of shells bric-a-brac dicky dicky-bird fico fig flamfew flyspeck minuity niff-naff scuddick sop ticky-tack toy trick trifle triviality whiffle white chip base contemptible floccinaucinihilipilificatious foolish for the birds futile frivolous idle ignorable immaterial inconsequential inconsiderable

Antonyms

baron big cheese big enchilada big gun big kahuna big man big name big noise big shot bigwig big wheel boss grand poobah head honcho heavy hitter heavyweight high muckamuck high muckety-muck king of all one surveys king of the castle king of the hill kingpin macher mayor muckamuck muckety muck mugwump numero uno panjandrum poobah rooster somebody top banana top boy top cat top dog top gun very important person VIP wheel somethingburger remarkable significant big central consequential critical crucial epochful essential extraordinary fateful fatefraught fatesome heavy pivotal high on the totem pole historic innegligible key

Related words

shit sandwich where's the beef

Derived words

somethingburger
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