Adjacent Words

Zero definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ZERO, n. 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.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

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

Merriam Webster's

I. noun (plural zeros; also zeroes) Etymology: French or Italian; French zéro, from Italian zero, from Medieval Latin zephirum, from Arabic ?ifr Date: 1598 1. a. the arithmetical symbol 0 or Ø denoting the absence of all magnitude or quantity b. additive identity; specifically the number between the set of all negative numbers and the set of all positive numbers c. a value of an independent variable that makes a function equal to zero <+2 and -2 are zeros of f(x)=x²-4> 2. — see number table 3. a. (1) the point of departure in reckoning; specifically the point from which the graduation of a scale (as of a thermometer) begins (2) the temperature represented by the zero mark on a thermometer b. the setting or adjustment of the sights of a firearm that causes it to shoot to point of aim at a desired range 4. an insignificant person or thing ; nonentity 5. a. a state of total absence or neutrality b. the lowest point ; nadir 6. something arbitrarily or conveniently designated zero II. adjective Date: 1810 1. a. of, relating to, or being a zero b. having no magnitude or quantity ; not any <zero growth> <zero tolerance> c. (1) having no phonetic manifestation <the zero modification in the past tense of cut> (2) having no modified inflectional form <a zero plural> 2. a. of a cloud ceiling limiting vision to 50 feet (15 meters) or less b. of horizontal visibility limited to 165 feet (50.3 meters) or less III. verb Date: 1913 transitive verb 1. to determine or adjust the zero of (as a rifle) 2. a. to concentrate firepower on the exact range of — usually used with in b. to bring to bear on the exact range of a target — usually used with in intransitive verb 1. to adjust fire on a specific target — usually used with in 2. to close in on or focus attention on an objective — usually used with in <investigators are zeroing in on a suspect>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

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. Phrases and idioms: 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 zéro or It. zero f. OSp. f. Arab. sifr CIPHER

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Zero Ze"ro, n.; pl. Zerosor Zeroes. [F. z['e]ro, from Ar. [,c]afrun, [,c]ifrun, 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. Note: Zero in the Centigrade, or Celsius thermometer, and in the R['e]aumur 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[deg] 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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(zeros, or zeroes, zeroing, zeroed) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. Zero is the number 0. Visibility at the city's airport came down to zero, bringing air traffic to a standstill. ...a scale ranging from zero to seven. = nought NUM 2. Zero is a temperature of 0°. It is freezing point on the Centigrade and Celsius scales, and 32° below freezing point on the Fahrenheit scale. It's a sunny late winter day, just a few degrees above zero... That night the mercury fell to thirty degrees below zero. N-UNCOUNT 3. You can use zero to say that there is none at all of the thing mentioned. This new ministry was being created with zero assets and zero liabilities. ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Naught (or nought), nothing, cipher.

Foolish Dictionary

Originally, nothing; but now meaning a good deal on a thermometer or bank-draft, and comprising two-thirds of the 400.

Moby Thesaurus

absolute zero, aught, blank, boiling point, cipher, concentrate on, dew point, duck, dud, dummy, fix on, focus on, freezing point, goose egg, hollow man, home in on, insignificancy, jackstraw, lay figure, man of straw, melting point, nada, nadir, naught, nebbish, nichts, nihil, nil, nix, no such thing, nobody, nonentity, nothing, nothing at all, nothing on earth, nothing whatever, nought, null, nullity, pinpoint, puppet, pushover, recalescence point, rock bottom, temperature, thing of naught, trifle, void, whiffet, whippersnapper, zero in on, zilch