000

/trɪpəl.əʊ/

//trɪpəl.əʊ// name

"000" is a 0-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“000” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
3
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The telephone number for emergency services in Australia.

Corpus desk

Index EN-000 · 000 · English

000 · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-0 0 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "0" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for 000
PropertyValue
Headword000
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/trɪpəl.əʊ/
Letters3
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “000” in English

000falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

000 is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /trɪpəl.əʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The telephone number for emergency services in Australia.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for 000, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: A variant of the British 999, originally selected as an appropriate number for rotary-dial telephones and adapted in Australia because of the need to dial an initial 0 from remote exchanges to connect to the main trunk lines. The correct English form is 000, spelled 0-0-0.

Definition

  1. 1
    The telephone number for emergency services in Australia.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how 000 appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. When you call 000, the Telstra operator usually answers the phone with "Emergency. Police, fire, or ambulance?"

Etymology

A variant of the British 999, originally selected as an appropriate number for rotary-dial telephones and adapted in Australia because of the need to dial an initial 0 from remote exchanges to connect to the main trunk lines.

Synonyms

Triple OTriple Zero000 Emergency

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "000"?
"000" is spelled 0-0-0. The IPA pronunciation is /trɪpəl.əʊ/.
What does "000" mean?
As a proper noun, "000" means: The telephone number for emergency services in Australia.
How do you pronounce "000"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "000" is /trɪpəl.əʊ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "000"?
A variant of the British 999, originally selected as an appropriate number for rotary-dial telephones and adapted in Australia because of the need to dial an initial 0 from remote exchanges to connect to the main trunk lines. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list