The AI-powered English dictionary
The cardinal number occurring before one and that denotes no quantity or amount at all, represented in Arabic numerals as 0. examples
countable and uncountable, plural zeros or zeroes
The numeric symbol that represents the cardinal number zero. examples
The digit 0 in the decimal, binary, and all other base numbering systems. examples
(informal, uncountable) Nothing, or none. examples
The value of a magnitude corresponding to the cardinal number zero. quotations examples
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 funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.
2013 July 6, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, page 68
The point on a scale at which numbering or measurement originates. examples
(mathematics) A value of the independent variables of a function, for which the function is equal to zero. examples
(mathematics, algebra) The additive identity element of a monoid or greater algebraic structure, particularly a group or ring. examples
(slang) A person of little or no importance.
(military) A Mitsubishi A6M Zero, a long range fighter aircraft operated by the Japanese Navy Air Service from 1940 to 1945. quotations
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.
1971, Lyndon Johnson, “The New Age of Regionalism”, in The Vantage Point, Holt, Reinhart & Winston, page 361
A setting of calibrated instruments such as a firearm, corresponding to a zero value. examples
(finance) A security which has a zero coupon (paying no periodic interest). examples
not comparable
(informal) No, not any. quotations examples
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
(meteorology) Of a cloud ceiling, limiting vision to 50 feet (15 meters) or less.
(meteorology) Of horizontal visibility, limited to 165 feet (50.3 meters) or less.
(linguistics) Present at an abstract level, but not realized in the surface form. examples
third-person singular simple present zeroes or zeros, present participle zeroing, simple past and past participle zeroed
(transitive) To set some amount to be zero. examples
To disappear or make something disappear. quotations examples
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
If I zeroed Jack, I'd get by So I'd erased him, pretended the last few months had never happened.
2004, Anna Maxted, Being Committed, page 358
to adjust until the variance is reduced to an acceptable low amount examples