Zero

From French zÃ©ro, from Italian zero, from Medieval Latin zephirum, from Arabic ØµÙØ± (á¹£ifr, "nothing, cipher").

(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.

In an adjectival sense, used with the plural of a countable noun:

I have zero dollars and zero food.

Full definition of zero

(countable and uncountable; plural zeros)

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.
The digit 0 in the decimal, binary, and all other base numbering systems.
One million has six zeroes.
(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.
The value of a magnitude corresponding to the cardinal number zero.

2013-07-06, The rise of smart beta, 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.
The point on a scale at which numbering or measurement originates.
The temperature outside is ten degrees below zero.
(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.
(algebra) (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.
(slang) A person of little or no importance.They rudely treated him like a zero.
(military) A Mitsubishi A6M Zero, a long range fighter aircraft operated by the Japanese Navy Air Service from 1940 to 1945.
A setting of calibrated instruments such as a firearm.
(finance) A security which has a zero coupon (paying no periodic interest).The takeovers were financed by issuing zeroes.

(numeric symbol zero) cipher
(digit zero) slashed zero
(point of origin on a scale) origin, zero point
(lowest point) nadir
(negligible or irrelevant amount) naught, nil, nothing, nought, nowt, null, (informal) bugger all, (informal) fuck all, nada, sod all, sweet FA, sweet Fanny Adams, zilch, zip
(person of little importance) cipher, nobody, nonentity
(value of a functionâ€™s variables at zero) root
(identity element of a monoid) additive identity

(informal, used with noun) noneShe showed zero respect.
(meteorology) Of a cloud ceiling, limiting vision to 50 feet (15 meters) or less.
(meteorology) Of horizontal visibility, limited to 165 feet (50.3 meters) or less.
(linguistics) Present at an abstract level, but not realized in the data.The stem of "kobieta" with the zero ending is "kobiet".

(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.
(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 wasnâ€™t zeroed during initialization.
(transitive) To cause or set some value or amount to be zero.They tried to zero the budget by the end of the quarter.
(transitive) To eliminate; to delete; to overwrite with zeros.

2001, Mark Pesce, "True Magic", in True Names by Vernor Vinge and the Opening of the Cyberspace Frontier, James Frenkel (editor)They discovered the object code for the simulator that was DON, and zeroed it. DON â€” or his creator â€” was clever and had planted many copies,
2004, Anna Maxted, Being Committed, page 358If I zeroed Jack, I'd get by So I'd erased him, pretended the last few months had never happened.

1997, Tom Clancy, Executive Orders, page 340Traffic on the encrypted channels used by senior Iraqi generals had peaked and zeroed, then peaked again, and zeroed again.