zero — ODE · Shobdo

zero /ˈzɪərəʊ

▸ cardinal number

(plural zeros)

1 no quantity or number; nought; the figure 0:

figures from zero to nine

you've left off a zero—it should be five hundred million.

▪ a point on a scale or instrument from which a positive or negative quantity is reckoned:

the gauge dropped to zero

[as modifier] a zero rate of interest.

▪ the temperature corresponding to 0° on the Celsius scale (32° Fahrenheit), marking the freezing point of water:

the temperature was below zero.

▪ [usually as modifier] Linguistics the absence of an actual word or morpheme to realize a syntactic or morphological phenomenon:

the zero plural in ‘three sheep’.

▪ the lowest possible amount or level; nothing at all:

I rated my chances as zero.

▪ short for zero hour

2 informal, derogatory a worthless or contemptibly undistinguished person:

her husband is an absolute zero.

▸ verb

( zeroes, zeroing, zeroed)

[with object]

1 adjust (an instrument) to zero:

zero the counter when the tape has rewound.

2 set the sights of (a gun) for firing:

the rifle had been zeroed at an elevation of 200.

– PHRASAL VERBS

zero in take aim with a gun or missile:

jet fighters zeroed in on the rebels' positions

the job of the crews was to get ammunition offloaded and head back out to sea before the German gunners could zero in.

▪ focus one's attention:

they zeroed in on the clues he dropped about himself.

zero out (zero something out, zero out something) reduce something to zero; eliminate or remove entirely:

the bill would zero out capital gains taxes.

– ORIGIN early 17th century: from French zéro or Italian zero, via Old Spanish from Arabic ṣifr ‘cipher’.