1. zero(n = noun.quantity) aught, cipher, cypher, goose egg, nada, naught, nil, nix, nothing, null, zilch, zip, zippo - a quantity of no importance; "it looked like nothing I had ever seen before"; "reduced to nil all the work we had done"; "we racked up a pathetic goose egg"; "it was all for naught"; "I didn't hear zilch about it"
is a kind of relative quantity
has particulars: nihil, bugger all, fanny adams, fuck all, sweet fanny adams
Derived form verb zero1
2. zero(n = noun.quantity) 0, cipher, cypher, nought - a mathematical element that when added to another number yields the same number;
is a kind of digit, figure
Derived form verb zero1
3. zero(n = noun.cognition) zero point - the point on a scale from which positive or negative numerical quantities can be measured;
is a kind of numerical quantity
Derived form verb zero1
4. zero(n = noun.artifact) - the sight setting that will cause a projectile to hit the center of the target with no wind blowing;
is a kind of sight setting
1. zero(s = adj.all) 0 - indicating the absence of any or all units under consideration; "a zero score"
2. zero(s = adj.all) - having no measurable or otherwise determinable value; "the goal is zero population growth"
3. zero(s = adj.all) - indicating an initial point or origin;
4. zero(a = adj.pert) - of or relating to the null set (a set with no members);
1. zero(v = verb.change) - adjust (an instrument or device) to zero value;
is one way to adjust, correct, set
Derived forms noun zero3, noun zero1, noun zero2
Sample sentences:
Somebody ----s something
2. zero(v = verb.change) zero in - adjust (as by firing under test conditions) the zero of (a gun); "He zeroed in his rifle at 200 yards"
is one way to adjust, correct, set
Sample sentences:
Somebody ----s something
1. A cipher; nothing; naught. [1913 Webster]
2. The point from which the graduation of a scale, as of a thermometer, commences. [1913 Webster]
" Zero in the Centigrade, or Celsius thermometer, and in the Réaumur thermometer, is at the point at which water congeals. The zero of the Fahrenheit thermometer is fixed at the point at which the mercury stands when immersed in a mixture of snow and common salt. In Wedgwood's pyrometer, the zero corresponds with 1077° on the Fahrenheit scale. See Illust. of
3. Fig.: The lowest point; the point of exhaustion; as, his patience had nearly reached zero. [1913 Webster]
zero, n. & v.
--n. (pl. -os)
1 a the figure 0; nought. b no quantity or number; nil.
2 a point on the scale of an instrument from which a positive or negative quantity is reckoned.
3 (attrib.) having a value of zero; no, not any (zero population growth).
4 (in full zero-hour) a the hour at which a planned, esp. military, operation is timed to begin. b a crucial moment.
5 the lowest point; a nullity or nonentity.
--v.tr. (-oes, -oed)
1 adjust (an instrument etc.) to zero point.
2 set the sights of (a gun) for firing.
Idiom:
zero in on 1 take aim at.
2 focus one's attention on. zero option a disarmament proposal for the total removal of certain types of weapons on both sides. zero-rated on which no value added tax is charged. zero-sum (of a game, political situation, etc.) in which whatever is gained by one side is lost by the other so that the net change is always zero.
Etymology:
F z{eacute}ro or It. zero f. OSp. f. Arab. sifr CIPHER
N unsubstantiality, insubstantiality, nothingness, nihility, no degree, no part, no quantity, no thing, nothing, naught, nil, nullity, zero, cipher, no one, nobody, never a one, ne'er a one, no such thing, none in the world, nothing whatever, nothing at all, nothing on earth, not a particle, all talk, moonshine, stuff and nonsense, matter of no importance, matter of no consequence, thing of naught, man of straw, John Doe and Richard Roe, faggot voter, nominis umbra, nonentity, flash in the pan, vox et praeterea nihil, shadow, phantom, dream, ignis fatuus, such stuff as dreams are made of, air, thin air, vapor, bubble, baseless fabric of a vision, mockery, hollowness, blank, void, inanity, fool's paradise, unsubstantial, baseless, groundless, ungrounded, without foundation, having no foundation, visionary, immaterial, spectral, dreamy, shadowy, ethereal, airy, cloud built, cloud formed, gossamery, illusory, insubstantial, unreal, vacant, vacuous, empty, eviscerated, blank, hollow, nominal, null, inane, there's nothing in it, an ocean of dreams without a sound.
N zero, nothing, null, nul, naught, nought, void, cipher, goose egg, none, nobody, no one, nichts, nixie, nix, zilch, zip, zippo, not a soul, ame qui vive, absence, unsubstantiality, not one, not a one, not any, nary a one, not a, never a, not a whit of, not an iota of, not a drop of, not a speck of, not a jot, not a trace of, not a hint of, not a smidgen of, not a suspicion of, not a shadow of, neither hide nor hair of.
absolute zero, ground zero, zero coupon bond, zero coupon security, zero hour, zero in, zero in on, zero point, zero tolerance