zero — OET · Shobdo

zero

noun

1 the sum's wrong—you've left off a zero:

nought, nothing, cipher, nil, 0;

Computing null character;

archaic naught.

2 the allowable dolphin kill will be gradually reduced each year to zero:

nothing, nil, nothing at all, not a single thing, not anything, none;

Northern English nowt;

informal zilch, nix, not a dicky bird;

British, informal damn all, not a sausage, sweet Fanny Adams, sweet FA;

North American, informal zip, zippo, nada, diddly-squat, a goose egg, bupkis;

British, vulgar slang bugger all, fuck all, sod all;

archaic naught, nought.

3 his energy levels were at zero:

rock bottom, the bottom, the lowest point, the all-time low, as low as one can get, low-water mark, the depths, the nadir;

informal the pits.

verb

zero the counter at the end point of the tape:

return to nought, return to zero, adjust to zero point.

□ zero in on

different scientists chose to zero in on different diseases:

focus on, focus attention on, centre on, concentrate on, home in on, fix on, pinpoint, give prominence to, highlight, spotlight, underline, emphasize;

informal zoom in on.

zero Oxford Dictionary of English