HAVE NOTHING ON Definition & Meaning

have nothing on

Have no advantage over something or someone, as in This car has nothing on my old one . [c. 1900]
Have no damaging information or proof of wrongdoing about someone, as in The police had nothing on him and so were forced to let him go . This usage is the antonym of have something on someone , as in Blackmail requires that you have something on someone wealthy . [c. 1920]
Be naked, as in Please bring in the mail; I just took a bath and don't have anything on .
Have nothing scheduled for a certain time, as in We have nothing on tonight, so why don't you come over? This expression, and its antonym, have something on , are abbreviations of have nothing (or something ) going on .

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Idioms and Phrases

Also, not have anything on .

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Example Sentences

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After all, journalists may be jaded—but at least in Avlon’s estimation, they have nothing on political consultants.

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When it comes to the price of beef, the early ’70s have nothing on today.

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But those digitally rendered spooks have nothing on scenes where the carefree bloggers gossip about employment turnover over drinks.

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“I have nothing on me!” he yells, and other voices chorus after: “He has nothing on him!”

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You begin to perceive I am filled with contradictions, but in this I have nothing on T. E. Lawrence, the central protagonist of this story, who was known everything from lieutenant to colonel in the British army of World War I and to his Arab friends, of whom there were many, as “El Aurens.”

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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have nothing on

Idioms and Phrases

Example Sentences