zero
Syllables: ze·roUK/ˈzɪəɹəʊ/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
British/ˈzɪːɹəw/
zero numeral: the cardinal number occurring before one and that denotes no quantity or amount at all, represented in Arabic numerals as 0.
Numeral
zero
- The cardinal number occurring before one and that denotes no quantity or amount at all, represented in Arabic numerals as 0.
- The conductor waited until the passenger count was zero.
- A cheque for zero dollars and zero cents crashed the computers on division by zero.
Noun (1)
zero (countable and uncountable, plural zeros or zeroes)
- The numeric symbol that represents the cardinal number zero.
- In unary and k-adic notation in general, zero is the empty string.
- Write 0.0 to indicate a floating point number rather than the integer zero.
- Synonyms:
- cipher
- The digit 0 in the decimal, binary, and all other base numbering systems.
- One million has six zeroes.
- His idea is to stand billions of ultrafine wire loops around the edge of a silicon chip — hence the name racetrack — and use electric current to slide infinitesimally small magnets up and down along each of the wires to be read and written as digital ones and zeros.2007 September 11, John Markoff, “Redefining the Architecture of Memory”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 09 Nov 2020
- Synonyms:
- slashed zero
- Nothing, or none.
- zero-defect
- The shipment was lost, so they had zero in stock.
- The value of a magnitude corresponding to the cardinal number zero.
- The electromagnetic field does not drop all of the way to zero before a reversal.
- Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension...2013 July 6, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, archived from the original on 01 Apr 2019, page 68
- The point on a scale at which numbering or measurement originates.
- The temperature outside is ten degrees below zero.
- A value of the independent variables of a function, for which the function is equal to zero.
- The zeroes of a polynomial are its roots by the fundamental theorem of algebra.
- The derivative of a continuous, differentiable function that twice crosses the axis must have a zero.
- The additive identity element of a monoid or greater algebraic structure, particularly a group or ring.
- Since a commutative zero is the inverse of any additive identity, it must be unique when it exists.
- The zero (of a ring or field) has the property that the product of the zero with any element yields the zero.
- Synonyms:
- additive identity
- A person dismissed as unimportant.
- They rudely treated him like a zero.
- Synonyms:
- cipher, nobody, nonentity, loser, absolute zero, assbucket, asswipe, badling, blatherskite, bugger
- A difference that is present at an abstract level, but not realized in the form, that is, superficially (on the surface).
- Sometimes a difference in intended meaning has only a zero to mark it, in which case the utterance may be ambiguous when context alone does not fully clarify it.
- A casual misspelling of Zero ("a fighter aircraft operated by Imperial Japan during World War II").
- A setting of calibrated instruments such as a firearm, corresponding to a zero value.
- A security which has a zero coupon (paying no periodic interest).
- The takeovers were financed by issuing zeroes.
Determiner
zero
- Synonym of no.
- She showed zero respect.
- You have to salute Gerrard's bravery in accepting the challenge of trying to turn Rangers around given that he has zero experience in senior management. Immortality beckons if he does it.2018 May 4, Tom English, “Steven Gerrard: A 'seriously clever or recklessly stupid' Rangers appointment”, in BBC Sport
- Synonyms:
- no.
Adjective
zero (not comparable)
- Of a cloud ceiling, limiting vision to 50 feet (15 meters) or less.
- Synonyms:
- no
- Of horizontal visibility, limited to 165 feet (50.3 meters) or less.
- Present at an abstract level, but not realized in the surface form.
- The stem of "kobieta" with the zero ending is "kobiet".
- Used in the names of foodstuffs, especially beverages, to indicate a version with no calories
Verb
zero (third-person singular simple present zeroes or zeros, present participle zeroing, simple past and past participle zeroed)
- To set some amount to be zero.
- They tried to zero the budget by the end of the quarter.
- Results were inconsistent because an array wasn’t zeroed during initialization.
- To disappear or make something disappear.
- Traffic on the encrypted channels used by senior Iraqi generals had peaked and zeroed, then peaked again, and zeroed again.1997, Tom Clancy, Executive Orders, page 340
- They discovered the object code for the simulator that was DON, and zeroed it. DON — or his creator — was clever and had planted many copies,2001, Mark Pesce, “True Magic”, in James Frenkel, editor, True Names by Vernor Vinge and the Opening of the Cyberspace Frontier
- To adjust until the variance is reduced to an acceptably low amount.
- The soldier took his gun to the shooting range to zero its aim.
Proper noun capitalized: Zero
the Zero
- A model of fighter aircraft, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, operated by Imperial Japan during World War II.
- The Zero was renowned for its dogfighting capabilities and its range.
Noun (2) capitalized: Zero
- Any specific instance of that model.
- A Zero had been shot down earlier, and we were hoping that the pressure was off, but just then two more Zeroes came in quite low, and we were suddenly in a sticky situation.
- The visit to Townsville was filled with nostalgia for me. I remembered very well staying there on June 8, 1942. I shared a room with a brave and friendly officer, Colonel Francis Stevens. Early the next morning we flew to Port Moresby in New Guinea, and from there we took off in separate planes....1971, Lyndon Johnson, “The New Age of Regionalism”, in The Vantage Point, Holt, Reinhart & Winston, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 361
zero meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
zero in Hindi
- cardinal number before 1, denoting nothing
- शून्य śūnya, ०, ज़ीरो zīro, सिफ़र sifar, सिफर siphar, सुन्ना sunnā
- nothing, or none — see also nothing, null
- शून्य śūnya, सुन्ना sunnā, बिंदी bindī, सिफ़र sifar, सिफर siphar
- point of origin on a scale
- शून्य śūnya
- numeric symbol of zero
- सिफ़र sifar, सिफर siphar, शून्य śūnya, ०
zero in Tamil
- cardinal number before 1, denoting nothing
- சுழியம் cuḻiyam, சுழி cuḻi, பூச்சியம் pūcciyam, ௦
zero in Marathi
- cardinal number before 1, denoting nothing
- शून्य śūnya
zero in Urdu
- cardinal number before 1, denoting nothing
- صِفْر sifr, ۰
More languagesFewer languages
- zero in Bengali
- শূন্য śunno, ০
- zero in Telugu
- సున్న sunna, శూన్యము śūnyamu, ౦, సున్నా sunnā
- zero in Malayalam
- പൂജ്യം pūjyaṁ
- zero in Kannada
- ಸೊನ್ನೆ sonne, ಶೂನ್ಯ śūnya
- zero in Punjabi
- ਸਿਫ਼ਰ sifar, ੦, ਜ਼ੀਰੋ zīro
- zero in Gujarati
- મીંડું mī̃ḍũ, ૦, શૂન્ય śūnya
- zero in Odia
- ଶୁନ୍ୟ śunya
- zero in Sanskrit
- शून्य śūnya, ०
- zero in Sinhala
- ශුන්යය śunyaya
- zero in Assamese
- সূঞ xuñ
- zero in Nepali
- शून्य śūnya
- zero in Pashto
- صفر sefər
- zero in Tagalog
- awan, sero, wala
- zero in Arabic
- صِفْر ṣifr, ٠, صفر ṣifr, صِفِر ṣifir
- zero in Malay
- kosong, sifar, nol, nihil
- zero in Indonesian
- nol, kosong
- zero in Persian
- صِفْر sifr, ۰
- zero in Thai
- ศูนย์ sǔun, ๐
- zero in Vietnamese
- không, số không, zêrô, nghiệm
- zero in Myanmar
- သုည su.nya.
- Sindhi
- ٻُڙِي buri
- Dhivehi
- ސުން sun̊
- Kashmiri
- صِفَر sifar
- Dzongkha
- ཀླད་ཀོར klad kor, ཐིག thig
Examples of zero in a sentence
- The zero sign in American Sign Language is considered rude in some cultures.
- He knows zero about humour.
- In the end, all of our hard work amounted to zero.
- The nontrivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function may all lie on the critical line.
- The quotient ring over a maximal ideal is a field with a single zero element.
- Zero the fluorometer with the same solvent used in extraction.
Synonyms of zero
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
Forms of zero
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | zeros |
| plural | zeroes |
| plural | Zeros |
| plural | Zeroes |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | zeroes |
| third-person singular present | zeros |
| present participle | zeroing |
| past participle | zeroed |
| past | zeroed |
Origin of zero
Collectively borrowed from Early Modern Spanish zero, Middle French zero, and (their etymon) Old Italian zero, from Medieval Latin zēphirum, from Arabic صِفْر (ṣifr, “nothing; cipher”), itself calqued from Sanskrit शून्य (śūnyá, “void; nothingness”). Doublet of cipher and chiffre. Cognate with Spanish cero and French zéro.
Words formed from zero
- alef zero
- autozero
- big fat zero
- care factor zero
- cover zero
- element zero
- exceptional zero
- give zero fucks
- grade zero
- ground-zero
- identically zero
- inbox zero
- kilometer zero
- kilometre zero
- Landau-Siegel zero
- myelin protein zero
- nonzero
- ones and zeroes
- patient zero
- quasizero
- semi-zero grazing
- Siegel zero
- status zero
- subzero
- year zero
- zeroable
- zeroadic
- zero article
- zeroary
- zero balancing
- zero-based
- zero blitz
- zero bomb
- zero car
- zero chill
- zero-click
- zero client
- zero conditional
- zero-cool
- zero copula
- zero-coupon note
- zero COVID
- zero cross
- zero dark thirty
- zero day
- zero derivation
- zero-derivation
- zero derive
- zero-derive
- zero-dimensional chess
- zero divisor
- zero-dose
- zero-edge pool
- zero-emission
- zero ending
- zero-entry
- zeroes and crosses
- zero fighter
- zerofold
- zero fucks given
Phrases with zero
- zero g
- CC Zero
- zero in
- net zero
- zero air
- zero gee
- zero out
- size zero
- zero cars
- zero days
- zero hour
- zero line
91 more phrasesFewer phrases
- zero loci
- zero mode
- zero rate
- zero ring
- zero bombs
- zero grade
- zero hours
- zero ideal
- zero lines
- zero locus
- zero modes
- zero morph
- zero point
- zero rated
- zero rates
- ground zero
- zero bombed
- zero chills
- zero coupon
- zero grades
- zero growth
- zero matrix
- zero method
- zero morphs
- zero object
- zero option
- zero period
- zero points
- zero prefix
- zero rating
- zero suffix
- zero tensor
- zero vector
- slashed zero
- zero blitzes
- zero bombing
- zero clients
- zero copulas
- zero coupons
- zero derived
- zero derives
- zero endings
- zero gravity
- zero hundred
- zero objects
- zero periods
- zero station
- zero tensors
- zero vectors
- absolute zero
- negative zero
- patients zero
- positive zero
- zero articles
- zero crossing
- zero deriving
- zero divisors
- zero fighters
- zero matrices
- zero matrixes
- zero meridian
- zero morpheme
- zero morphism
- zero prefixes
- zero suffixes
- World War Zero
- zero meridians
- zero morphemes
- zero morphisms
- zero tolerance
- gave zero fucks
- zero deflection
- zero shadow day
- gives zero fucks
- zero coupon bond
- zero derivations
- zero lower bound
- zero mile marker
- giving zero fucks
- zero conditionals
- zero coupon bonds
- zero lower bounds
- go from zero to hero
- goes from zero to hero
- gone from zero to hero
- went from zero to hero
- zero one infinity rule
- zero population growth
- going from zero to hero
- zero population growths
- fold under zero pressure
Words that rhyme with zero
Questions about zero
- What does zero mean?
- Zero means the cardinal number occurring before one and that denotes no quantity or amount at all, represented in Arabic numerals as 0.
- What is zero in Hindi?
- Zero in Hindi is शून्य (śūnya), ०, ज़ीरो (zīro). See Zero meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use zero in a sentence?
- The zero sign in American Sign Language is considered rude in some cultures.
- What part of speech is zero?
- Zero can be a numeral, a noun, a determiner or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce zero?
- Zero is pronounced /ˈzɪəɹəʊ/ (UK).
Words near zero in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: zero (page history and authors); Zero (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-zero.ogg, En-au-zero.ogg.
Cite this entry: “zero.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/zero. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.