Zero

6 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Zero \Ze"ro\, n.; pl. {Zeros}or {Zeroes}. [F. z['e]ro, from Ar.
     [,c]afrun, [,c]ifrun, empty, a cipher. Cf. {Cipher}.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. (Arith.) A cipher; nothing; naught.
        [1913 Webster]
  


     2. The point from which the graduation of a scale, as of a
        thermometer, commences.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: Zero in the Centigrade, or Celsius thermometer, and in
           the R['e]aumur thermometer, is at the point at which
           water congeals. The zero of the Fahrenheit thermometer
           is fixed at the point at which the mercury stands when
           immersed in a mixture of snow and common salt. In
           Wedgwood's pyrometer, the zero corresponds with
           1077[deg] on the Fahrenheit scale. See Illust. of
           {Thermometer}.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Fig.: The lowest point; the point of exhaustion; as, his
        patience had nearly reached zero.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Absolute zero}. See under {Absolute}.
  
     {Zero method} (Physics), a method of comparing, or measuring,
        forces, electric currents, etc., by so opposing them that
        the pointer of an indicating apparatus, or the needle of a
        galvanometer, remains at, or is brought to, zero, as
        contrasted with methods in which the deflection is
        observed directly; -- called also {null method}.
  
     {Zero point}, the point indicating zero, or the commencement
        of a scale or reckoning.
        [1913 Webster]
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  zero
       adj 1: indicating the absence of any or all units under
              consideration; "a zero score" [syn: {0}]
       2: indicating an initial point or origin
       3: of or relating to the null set (a set with no members)
       4: having no measurable or otherwise determinable value; "the
          goal is zero population growth" [syn: {zero(a)}]
       n 1: a quantity of no importance; "it looked like nothing I had
            ever seen before"; "reduced to nil all the work we had
            done"; "we racked up a pathetic goose egg"; "it was all
            for naught"; "I didn't hear zilch about it" [syn: {nothing},
             {nil}, {nix}, {nada}, {null}, {aught}, {cipher}, {cypher},
             {goose egg}, {naught}, {zilch}, {zip}]
       2: a mathematical element that when added to another number
          yields the same number [syn: {0}, {nought}, {cipher}, {cypher}]
       3: the quantity that registers a reading of zero on a scale
          [syn: {zero point}]
       v 1: adjust (an instrument or device) to zero value
       2: adjust (as by firing under test conditions) the zero of (a
          gun); "He zeroed in his rifle at 200 yards" [syn: {zero in}]
       [also: {zeroes} (pl)]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  52 Moby Thesaurus words for "zero":
     absolute zero, aught, blank, boiling point, cipher, concentrate on,
     dew point, duck, dud, dummy, fix on, focus on, freezing point,
     goose egg, hollow man, home in on, insignificancy, jackstraw,
     lay figure, man of straw, melting point, nada, nadir, naught,
     nebbish, nichts, nihil, nil, nix, no such thing, nobody, nonentity,
     nothing, nothing at all, nothing on earth, nothing whatever,
     nought, null, nullity, pinpoint, puppet, pushover,
     recalescence point, rock bottom, temperature, thing of naught,
     trifle, void, whiffet, whippersnapper, zero in on, zilch
  
  

From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:

  zero vt. 1. To set to 0. Usually said of small pieces of data, such as
     bits or words (esp. in the construction `zero out'). 2. To erase; to
     discard all data from. Said of disks and directories, where `zeroing'
     need not involve actually writing zeroes throughout the area being
     zeroed. One may speak of something being `logically zeroed' rather than
     being `physically zeroed'. See {scribble}.
  
  

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  ZERO
       
           An {object oriented} extension of {Z}.
       
          ["Object Orientation in Z", S. Stepney et al eds, Springer
          1992].
       
          [{Jargon File}]
       
          (1995-03-30)
       
       

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  zero
       
          1.  0, {ASCI} character 48.  Numeric zero, as
          opposed to the letter "O" (the 15th letter of the English
          alphabet).  In their unmodified forms they look a lot alike,
          and various {kluges} invented to make them visually distinct
          have compounded the confusion.
       
          If your zero is centre-dotted and letter-O is not, or if
          letter-O looks almost rectangular but zero looks more like an
          American football stood on end (or the reverse), you're
          probably looking at a modern character display (though the
          dotted zero seems to have originated as an option on {IBM
          3270} controllers).  If your zero is slashed but letter-O is
          not, you're probably looking at an old-style {ASCII} graphic
          set descended from the default typewheel on the venerable
          {ASR-33} {Teletype} (Scandinavians, for whom slashed-O is a
          letter, curse this arrangement).
       
          If letter-O has a slash across it and the zero does not, your
          display is tuned for a very old convention used at {IBM} and a
          few other early mainframe makers (Scandinavians curse *this*
          arrangement even more, because it means two of their letters
          collide).  Some {Burroughs}/{Unisys} equipment displays a zero
          with a *reversed* slash.  And yet another convention common on
          early {line printers} left zero unornamented but added a tail
          or hook to the letter-O so that it resembled an inverted Q or
          cursive capital letter-O.
       
          [{Jargon File}]
       
          (1995-01-24)
       
          2. To set to zero.  Usually said of small pieces of data, such
          as bits or words (especially in the construction "zero out").
       
          3. To erase; to discard all data from.  Said of disks and
          directories, where "zeroing" need not involve actually writing
          zeroes throughout the area being zeroed.  One may speak of
          something being "logically zeroed" rather than being
          "physically zeroed".
       
          See {scribble}.
       
          (1999-02-07)