Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Zero

Ze′ro

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Zeros
or
Zeroes
.
[F.
zéro
, from Ar.
çafrun
,
çifrun
, empty, a cipher. Cf.
Cipher
.]
1.
(Arith.)
A cipher; nothing; naught.
2.
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
.
3.
Fig.: The lowest point; the point of exhaustion;
as, his patience had nearly reached
zero
.
Absolute zero
.
See under
Absolute
.
–
Zero method
(Physics)
,
a method of comparing, or measuring, forces, electric currents, etc., by so opposing them that the pointer of an indicating apparatus, or the needle of a galvanometer, remains at, or is brought to, zero, as contrasted with methods in which the deflection is observed directly; – called also
null method
.
–
Zero point
,
the point indicating zero, or the commencement of a scale or reckoning.

Webster 1828 Edition

Zero

ZERO

,
Noun.
Cipher; nothing. The point of a thermometer from which it is graduated. Zero, in the thermometers of Celsius and Reaumur, is at the point at which water congeals. The zero of Fahrenheits thermometer is fixed at the point at which the mercury stands when immersed in a mixture of snow and common salt. In Wedgewoods pyrometer, the zero corresponds with 1077 degrees on Fahrenheits scale.

Definition 2024

Zero

Zero

See also: zero, zéro, zéró, and żero

Italian

Proper noun

Zero ?

  1. A river that flows in Veneto

zero

zero

See also: Zero, zéro, zéró, and żero

English

English numbers
0 1  > 
    Cardinal : zero
    Ordinal : zeroth

Numeral

zero

  1. (cardinal) The cardinal number occurring before one and that denotes no quantity or amount at all, represented in Arabic numerals as 0.
    The conductor waited until the passenger count was zero.‎
    A cheque for zero dollars and zero cents crashed the computers on division by zero.‎

Usage notes

  • In an adjectival sense, used with the plural of a countable noun or with an uncountable noun:
    I have zero dollars and zero food.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

  • division by zero
  • zero method

Translations

See also

  • Table of cardinal numbers 0 to 9 in various languages

Noun

zero ‎(countable and uncountable, plural zeroes or zeros)

  1. The numeric symbol that represents the cardinal number zero.
    In unary and k-adic notation in general, zero is the empty string.‎
    Write 0.0 to indicate a floating point number rather than the integer zero.‎
    The zero sign in American Sign Language is considered rude in some cultures.‎
  2. The digit 0 in the decimal, binary, and all other base numbering systems.
    One million has six zeroes.‎
  3. (informal, uncountable) Nothing, or none.
    The shipment was lost, so they had zero in stock.‎
    He knows zero about humour.‎
    In the end, all of our hard work amounted to zero.‎
  4. The value of a magnitude corresponding to the cardinal number zero.
    • 2013 July 6, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, page 68:
      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.
    The electromagnetic field does not drop all of the way to zero before a reversal.‎
  5. The point on a scale at which numbering or measurement originates.
    The temperature outside is ten degrees below zero.‎
  6. (mathematics) A value of the independent variables of a function, for which the function is equal to zero.
    The zeroes of a polynomial are its roots by the fundamental theorem of algebra.‎
    The derivative of a continuous, differentiable function that twice crosses the axis must have a zero.‎
    The nontrivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function may all lie on the critical line.‎
  7. (mathematics, algebra) The additive identity element of a monoid or greater algebraic structure, particularly a group or ring.
    Since a commutative zero is the inverse of any additive identity, it must be unique when it exists.‎
    The zero (of a ring or field) has the property that the product of the zero with any element yields the zero.‎
    The quotient ring over a maximal ideal is a field with a single zero element.‎
  8. (slang) A person of little or no importance.
    They rudely treated him like a zero.‎
  9. (military) A Mitsubishi A6M Zero, a long range fighter aircraft operated by the Japanese Navy Air Service from 1940 to 1945.
  10. A setting of calibrated instruments such as a firearm.
  11. (finance) A security which has a zero coupon (paying no periodic interest).
    The takeovers were financed by issuing zeroes.‎

Synonyms

Antonyms

  • (value of a function's variables at zero): pole

Holonyms

  • (value of a function's variables at zero): kernel

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Adjective

zero ‎(not comparable)

  1. (informal, used with noun) none
    She showed zero respect.‎
  2. (meteorology) Of a cloud ceiling, limiting vision to 50 feet (15 meters) or less.
  3. (meteorology) Of horizontal visibility, limited to 165 feet (50.3 meters) or less.
  4. (linguistics) Present at an abstract level, but not realized in the data.
    The stem of "kobieta" with the zero ending is "kobiet".‎

Synonyms

  • (informal: virtually none): no

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

zero ‎(third-person singular simple present zeroes, present participle zeroing, simple past and past participle zeroed)

  1. (transitive) To set a measuring instrument to zero; to calibrate instrument scale to valid zero.
    Zero the fluorometer with the same solvent used in extraction.‎
  2. (transitive, computing) To change a memory location or range to values of zero; to set a variable in a computer program to zero.
    Results were inconsistent because an array wasn’t zeroed during initialization.‎
  3. (transitive) To cause or set some value or amount to be zero.
    They tried to zero the budget by the end of the quarter.‎
  4. (transitive) To eliminate; to delete; to overwrite with zeros.
    • 2001, Mark Pesce, “True Magic”, in James Frenkel, editor, True Names by Vernor Vinge and the Opening of the Cyberspace Frontier:
      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,
    • 2004, Anna Maxted, Being Committed, page 358:
      If I zeroed Jack, I'd get by So I'd erased him, pretended the last few months had never happened.
  5. (intransitive) To disappear
    • 1997, Tom Clancy, Executive Orders, page 340:
      Traffic on the encrypted channels used by senior Iraqi generals had peaked and zeroed, then peaked again, and zeroed again.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Basque

Basque cardinal numbers
0 1  > 
    Cardinal : zero
Basque Wikipedia article on zero

Etymology

From Italian zero, from Medieval Latin zephirum, from Arabic صِفْر ‎(ṣifr, “nothing, cipher”).

Numeral

zero

  1. (cardinal) zero

Catalan

Catalan cardinal numbers
0 1  > 
    Cardinal : zero
Catalan Wikipedia article on zero

Etymology

From Italian zero, from Medieval Latin zephirum, from Arabic صِفْر ‎(ṣifr, “nothing, cipher”).

Pronunciation

  • (Balearic) IPA(key): /ˈzɛ.ɾo/
  • (Central) IPA(key): /ˈzɛ.ɾu/
  • (Valencian) IPA(key): /ˈzɛ.ɾo/

Numeral

zero m, f

  1. (cardinal) zero
  2. (metrology) zero; origin point of a scale

Derived terms

Noun

zero m ‎(plural zeros)

  1. zero

Ido

Ido cardinal numbers
0 1  > 
    Cardinal : zero
    Ordinal : zeresma
    Adverbial : zerfoye
    Multiplier : zeropla
    Fractional : zerima
Ido Wikipedia article on zero

Etymology

From English zero, French zéro, Italian zero, Spanish cero.

Numeral

zero

  1. zero (0)

Interlingua

Numeral

zero

  1. zero

Italian

Italian cardinal numbers
0 1  > 
    Cardinal : zero
    Ordinal : zeresimo
    Collective : nessuno

Etymology

From New Latin zerum, from Medieval Latin zephirum, from Arabic صِفْر ‎(ṣifr, “nothing”, “cipher”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈd͡zɛ.ro/, [ˈd̪͡z̪ɛːr̺o]
  • Hyphenation: zè‧ro
  • Rhymes: -ɛro
  • Hyphenation: zero

Numeral

zero

  1. (cardinal) zero

Adjective

zero m, f ‎(invariable)

  1. zero

Noun

zero m ‎(plural zeri)

  1. zero
  2. nil (football)

Derived terms

See also

  • Appendix:Italian numbers

Japanese

Romanization

zero

  1. rōmaji reading of ゼロ

Kurdish

Etymology

zer +‎ -ê

Noun

zero m

  1. blond (male person)

See also

  • zerê

Latin

Noun

zerō

  1. dative singular of zerum
  2. ablative singular of zerum

Polish

Polish cardinal numbers
0 1  > 
    Cardinal : zero
    Ordinal : zerowy
    Collective : zero

Etymology

From Italian zero, from Italian zefiro, from Medieval Latin zephirum, from Arabic صِفْر ‎(ṣifr, “nothing, cipher”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈz̪ɛrɔ]

Numeral

zero n

  1. zero

Declension

Coordinate terms

Derived terms

Portuguese

Portuguese cardinal numbers
0 1  > 
    Cardinal : zero

Etymology

Borrowing from French zéro, from Italian zero, from Medieval Latin zephirum, from Arabic صِفْر ‎(ṣifr, “nothing, cipher”).

Pronunciation

Adjective

zero m f pl

  1. (cardinal) zero
    • Zero pessoas vieram.‎
      Zero people came.

Usage notes

Takes the plural.

Synonyms

Noun

zero m (plural zeros)

  1. zero (name of the digit 0)

Related terms

Verb

zero

  1. first-person singular (eu) present indicative of zerar

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowing from French zéro.

Numeral

zero

  1. (cardinal) zero

Etymology

From Latin Iarus.

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