What does "zero-based" mean?

Of a budget or budgeting system: such that every expense needs to be approved every year, without the possibility of automatically accepting something because of its prior existence.

Zero-based

adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective

1
Of a budget or budgeting system: such that every expense needs to be approved every year, without the possibility of automatically accepting something because of its prior existence. not-comparable
2
Of an array or list: such the first element of the array or list is called the zeroth. not-comparable

Related phrases

zero-based budget

More for "zero-based"

Synonyms Sentences Pronunciation Translate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation Browse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.