What does "zero" mean?
The numeric symbol that represents the cardinal number zero.
Zero
/ˈzɪəɹəʊ/ adj, det, noun, num, verb, slang
adj, det, noun, num, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The numeric symbol that represents the cardinal number zero.
- Grammar: zero is listed as adj, det, noun, num, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: naught, nil, null, origin.
- Useful contrasts: danish hundrede, fifty, fifty symbol.
- Usage evidence: Water freezes at zero degrees Celsius, doesn't it?
How to use "zero"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "zero" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "zero" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "zero" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "zero" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "zero" is acting as adj, det, noun, num, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "naught" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "zero", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The numeric symbol that represents the cardinal number zero. countable, uncountable
"In unary and k-adic notation in general, zero is the empty string."
- 2 the sight setting that will cause a projectile to hit the center of the target with no wind blowing wordnet
- 3 The digit 0 in the decimal, binary, and all other base numbering systems. countable, uncountable
"One million has six zeroes."
- 4 the point on a scale from which positive or negative numerical quantities can be measured wordnet
- 5 Nothing, or none. informal, uncountable
"The shipment was lost, so they had zero in stock."
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 a quantity of no importance; thing (object:), singular, negative pronoun; pronoun, thing, singular; quantifier: negative existential wordnet
- 7 The value of a magnitude corresponding to the cardinal number zero. countable, uncountable
"The electromagnetic field does not drop all of the way to zero before a reversal."
- 8 a mathematical element that when added to another number yields the same number wordnet
- 9 The point on a scale at which numbering or measurement originates. countable, uncountable
"The temperature outside is ten degrees below zero."
- 10 A value of the independent variables of a function, for which the function is equal to zero. countable, uncountable
"The zeroes of a polynomial are its roots by the fundamental theorem of algebra."
- 11 The additive identity element of a monoid or greater algebraic structure, particularly a group or ring. countable, uncountable
"Since a commutative zero is the inverse of any additive identity, it must be unique when it exists."
- 12 A person of little or no importance. countable, slang, uncountable
"They rudely treated him like a zero."
- 13 A Mitsubishi A6M Zero, a long range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service from 1940 to 1945. capitalized, countable, uncountable, usually
"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. Colonel Stevens never returned from that flight; his plane was shot down by a Japanese Zero."
- 14 A setting of calibrated instruments such as a firearm, corresponding to a zero value. countable, uncountable
- 15 A security which has a zero coupon (paying no periodic interest). countable, uncountable
"The takeovers were financed by issuing zeroes."
Verb
- 1 To set some amount to be zero. transitive
"They tried to zero the budget by the end of the quarter."
- 2 adjust (as by firing under test conditions) the zero of (a gun) wordnet
- 3 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."
- 4 adjust (an instrument or device) to zero value wordnet
- 5 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."
Adjective
- 1 Of a cloud ceiling, limiting vision to 50 feet (15 meters) or less. not-comparable
- 2 Of horizontal visibility, limited to 165 feet (50.3 meters) or less. not-comparable
- 3 Present at an abstract level, but not realized in the surface form. not-comparable
"The stem of "kobieta" with the zero ending is "kobiet"."
- 4 Used in the names of foodstuffs, especially beverages, to indicate a version with no calories not-comparable, postpositional
Adjective
- 1 indicating the absence of any or all units under consideration wordnet
- 2 indicating an initial point or origin wordnet
- 3 having no measurable or otherwise determinable value wordnet
- 4 of or relating to the null set (a set with no members) wordnet
Numeral
- 1 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."
Determiner
- 1 Synonym of no.
"She showed zero respect."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Water freezes at zero degrees Celsius, doesn't it?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "zero"?
Common synonyms include: naught, nil, null, origin, zero point, 0.
How do you use "zero" in a sentence?
Water freezes at zero degrees Celsius, doesn't it?
How do you pronounce "zero"?
Pronounced /ˈzɪəɹəʊ/.
Etymology
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.