zero Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun a quantity of no importance
cypher; aught; zip; nil; nada; nix; cipher; zilch; goose egg; zippo; nothing; naught; null.
- 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
noun a mathematical element that when added to another number yields the same number
0; nought; cipher; cypher.
noun the point on a scale from which positive or negative numerical quantities can be measured
zero point.
noun the sight setting that will cause a projectile to hit the center of the target with no wind blowing
verb adjust (an instrument or device) to zero value
verb adjust (as by firing under test conditions) the zero of (a gun)
zero in.
- He zeroed in his rifle at 200 yards
adjective satellite indicating the absence of any or all units under consideration
0.
- a zero score
adjective satellite having no measurable or otherwise determinable value
- the goal is zero population growth
adjective satellite indicating an initial point or origin
adjective of or relating to the null set (a set with no members)

F. zéro, from Ar. &cced;afrun, &cced;ifrun, empty, a cipher. Cf. Cipher.

plural Zeros or Zeroes

(Arith.) A cipher; nothing; naught.
The point from which the graduation of a scale, as of a thermometer, commences. ✍ 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 Thermometer.
Fig.: The lowest point; the point of exhaustion; as, his patience had nearly reached zero.