zeroth
/ˈzɪɹoʊθ/adjective
zeroth is spelled Z-E-R-O-T-H: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 109,062nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, zeroth means “In the initial position in a sequence whose elements are numbered starting at zero; the ordinal number corresponding to zero” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in zeroth?
| Letters | 6: Z-E-R-O-T-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | about once in every 13 million words; the 109,062nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none 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 zeroth?
Zeroth appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 109,062nd 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 zeroth?
- UK /ˈzɪəɹəʊθ/
- US /ˈzɪɹoʊθ/
- US /ˈziɹoʊθ/
Zeroth has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-zeroth.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of zeroth
- zeroeth
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does zeroth mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
In the initial position in a sequence whose elements are numbered starting at zero; the ordinal number corresponding to zero.
The zeroth order polynomial approximation is constant.
- 2
Corresponding to a position preceding the first.
A and C are in equilibrium following the Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Zeroth in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense ordinal number corresponding to zero:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | zérotième, nullième, zéroième |
| German | nullte |
| Portuguese | zerésimo |
| Spanish | cero, ceroésimo |
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 zeroth come from?
From zero + -th (ordinal suffix).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).