From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishzeroze‧ro1 /ˈzɪərəʊ $ ˈziːroʊ/ ●●● S3 number (plural zeros or zeroes) 1 HMNthe number 0 SYN nought British English Make x greater than or equal to zero.2 TMHMNthe point between + and – on a scale for measuring something, or the lowest point on a scale that shows how much there is left of something The petrol gauge was already at zero.3 TMTa temperature of 0° on the Celsius or Fahrenheit scaleabove/below zero It was five degrees below zero last night. → absolute zero, sub-zero4 NONE/NOTHINGnone at all, or the lowest possible amountsomebody’s chances are zero (=they have no chance of success) Mike’s chances of winning are virtually zero. From 1971 to 1976 West Vancouver experienced zero population growth.THESAURUSzero the number 0. Also used when saying there is nothing at allA million is written as one followed by six zeros.a temperature of zero degreesOur chances of success are virtually zero.nil British English zero – used especially in the results of sports gamesUnited won the game three-nil. In rural areas, employment opportunities are almost nil.nought British English spoken zero – used in calculations and figuresIt has increased by nought point seven five per cent (=0.75%).O used to say the number 0 like the letter OThe code for Oxford is 0 one eight six five (=01865).
Examples from the Corpus
zero• Iowa's chances of winning are virtually zero.• The pressure gauge was almost down to zero.• The glass moved more smoothly, more quickly, then came to rest at the figure zero.• Any floating.point number with a zero fraction represents zero.• I started with absolutely zero knowledge about computers.• The median number identified per child was five, with a wide variation from zero to 29.above/below zero• In any case, short-term rates are not far above zero.• Temperatures during the long Mercurian night would probably plummet to below zero.• The egg masses can survive temperatures as low as twenty below zero Fahrenheit.• It can be forty above zero in Eugene and ten below zero in Bend, a two-hour drive to the east.• There was not a lot of the ship left to see and it was very cold, below zero in fact.• It must have been seventy below zero outside.• Temperatures could drop to five degrees below zero tonight.somebody’s chances are zero• If one does not have a raffle ticket one's chances are zero. zerozero2 verb → zero in on somebody/something→ See Verb tableFrom Longman Business Dictionaryzeroze‧ro1 /ˈzɪərəʊˈziːroʊ/ noun (plural zeros or zeroes) [countable]1the number 02zero growth/inflation etcECONOMICS no growth, inflation etc at allGovernment officials are predicting zero inflation for April.The figures show zero growth in industrial output value.3zero [countable usually plural] informal another name for ZERO COUPON BONDs → see under bondzerozero2 verb → zero in on somebody/something→ See Verb tableOrigin zero1 (1600-1700) French zéro, from Arabic sifr “empty, nothing” 