zero

Word family

Related topics: Numbers, Measurement, Temperature

ze·ro1 /ˈzɪərəʊ $ ˈziːroʊ/ S3 number (plural zeros or zeroes) → triple

1 HMNthe number 0 零 SYN British English nought

Make x greater than or equal to zero.

设x大于或等于零。

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 〔刻度上的〕零点，零位

The petrol gauge was already at zero.

油表已到零位了。

3 TMTa temperature of 0° on the Celsius or Fahrenheit scale 〔温度表上的〕零度

above/below zero

It was five degrees below zero last night.

昨晚零下五度。

→ absolute zero , sub-zero

4 NONE/NOTHINGnone at all, or the lowest possible amount 毫无；最少量

somebody’s chances are zero (=they have no chance of success) 某人的机会是零

Mike’s chances of winning are virtually zero.

迈克获胜的机会几乎为零。

From 1971 to 1976 West Vancouver experienced zero population growth.

1971年至1976年，西温哥华经历了人口零增长。

n THESAURUS

zero the number 0. Also used when saying there is nothing at all

A million is written as one followed by six zeros.

a temperature of zero degrees

Our chances of success are virtually zero.

nil British EnglishBrE zero – used especially in the results of sports games

United won the game three-nil.

In rural areas, employment opportunities are almost nil.

nought British EnglishBrE spoken zero – used in calculations and figures

It has increased by nought point seven five per cent (=0.75%).

O used to say the number 0 like the letter O

The 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.

zero2 verb

1 zero in on somebody/something phrasal verbphr v

a) ATTENTIONto direct all your attention towards a particular person or thing 全力对付，全神贯注于 SYN home in on

She immediately zeroed in on the weak point in his argument.

她立即全力攻击他论据中的薄弱环节。

b) PMWSHOOTto aim a gun or other weapon towards something or someone 把〔枪炮等〕瞄准

From Longman Business Dictionary