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zero

ze·roUK /ˈzɪəɹəʊ/number, noun, determiner, adjective, verb

zero is spelled Z-E-R-O: 4 letters and 2 syllables (ze·ro). It appears 43 times per million words in written English, the 2,339th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a number, zero means “The cardinal number occurring before one and that denotes no quantity or amount at all, represented in Arabic numerals as 0” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in zero?

Letters4: Z-E-R-O
Syllables2: ze·ro
In writing43 times per million words; the 2,339th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is zero?

Zero appears 43 times per million words in written English, the 2,339th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce zero?

  • UK /ˈzɪəɹəʊ/
  • UK /ˈzɪɹəʊ/
  • British /ˈzɪːɹəw/

Zero has 2 syllables, split ze·ro in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-zero.ogg, En-au-zero.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of zero

  • zeros plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • zeroes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • zeroing participle, present
  • zeroed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does zero mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

number

  1. 1

    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.

noun

  1. 1

    The numeric symbol that represents the cardinal number zero.

    In unary and k-adic notation in general, zero is the empty string.

  2. 2

    The digit 0 in the decimal, binary, and all other base numbering systems.

    One million has six zeroes.

  3. 3

    informalNothing, or none.

    zero-defect

  4. 4

    The value of a magnitude corresponding to the cardinal number zero.

    The electromagnetic field does not drop all of the way to zero before a reversal.

  5. 5

    The point on a scale at which numbering or measurement originates.

    The temperature outside is ten degrees below zero.

  6. 6

    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.

  7. 7

    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.

  8. 8

    slangA person dismissed as unimportant.

    They rudely treated him like a zero.

determiner

  1. 1

    Synonym of no.

    She showed zero respect.

adjective

  1. 1

    Of a cloud ceiling, limiting vision to 50 feet (15 meters) or less.

  2. 2

    Of horizontal visibility, limited to 165 feet (50.3 meters) or less.

  3. 3

    Present at an abstract level, but not realized in the surface form.

    The stem of "kobieta" with the zero ending is "kobiet".

  4. 4

    Used in the names of foodstuffs, especially beverages, to indicate a version with no calories

verb

  1. 1

    To set some amount to be zero.

    They tried to zero the budget by the end of the quarter.

  2. 2

    To disappear or make something disappear.

  3. 3

    To adjust until the variance is reduced to an acceptably low amount.

    The soldier took his gun to the shooting range to zero its aim.

noun

as Zero
  1. 1

    Any specific instance of that model.

    A Zero had been shot down earlier, and we were hoping that the pressure was off, but just then two more Zeroes came in quite low, and we were suddenly in a sticky situation.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Zero in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchzéro (cardinal number before 1, denoting nothing), nul (informal: virtually none), zéroter, mettre à zéro (to set to zero)
Germannull, Null, zero, Zero (cardinal number before 1, denoting nothing), Nullpunkt (zero value of a magnitude), Nullstelle (value of a function’s independent variables…)
Portuguesezero (cardinal number before 1, denoting nothing), nenhum (informal: virtually none), zerar (to set to zero), nada (nothing, or none – see also nothing, null)
Spanishcero (cardinal number before 1, denoting nothing), nulo (informal: virtually none), poner a cero (to set to zero)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does zero come from?

Collectively borrowed from Early Modern Spanish zero, Middle French zero, and (their etymon) Old Italian zero, from Medieval Latin zēphirum, from Arabic صِفْر (ṣifr, “nothing; cipher”), itself calqued from Sanskrit शून्य (śūnyá, “void; nothingness”). Doublet of cipher and chiffre. Cognate with Spanish cero and French zéro.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after zero