It's zero hour, time to zero in on the many uses of the word zero in the English language. As you read, you'll see zero go from zero to hero, from a word meaning nothing to a word with many uses.
First, the word. The English word zero is a noun, a verb, and an adjective. A borrowing from Spanish, French, and Italian, it was in use in English by 1598.
Noun:
• A computer runs using ones and zeros. (spelling: zeros or zeroes)
• It's below zero outside! (= zero degrees)
• I started as a zero here, but now I'm the boss. (= unimportant person)
• Verb:
• Our company is zeroing in on smartphone apps. (zero, zeros/zeroes, zeroing, zeroed)
• Scientists are zeroing in on a vaccination for the virus.
• Adjective:
• Paul has zero tolerance for noise. (= no)
• Setting the clocks forward and back each year makes zero sense!
Idioms with Zero
Here are a few idioms that use zero.
1. zero hour, n. phr.
(1) A time when a very important decision must be made. (2) A time when a military action is scheduled; a time when an important event is scheduled.
• Are all the musicians ready? It’s almost zero hour—the concert is about to begin.
• Sorry, it’s zero hour. We must make a decision now.
2. zero in (on), phrasal verb
(1) to aim at with a gun. (2) to turn one’s attention to something. This idiom was originally used for aiming guns, but soon was used for aiming one’s attention.
• The new mayor promised to zero in on crime.
• When John started the cartoon, the kids quickly zeroed in on the TV.
3. go from zero to hero, v. phr.
To suddenly become very popular, often after starting as very unpopular.
• The new president went from zero to hero when she cut taxes.
• The kids hated their professor until he canceled the final exam. Then he went from zero to hero.
Zero Is a Hero
The computer or smartphone you're reading this on runs on zeros and ones. Without zero, we wouldn't have modern electronics, or calculus or modern engineering.
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