zero

The word “zero” means the number 0; the quantity representing none at all. In plain terms, the number that means "none" — also used as a verb meaning to reset something to that starting point.

“Zero” is pronounced ZEER-roh (/ˈzɪɹoʊ/ in IPA).

Here is “zero” used in a sentence: “The thermometer read zero degrees this morning.”

Words with a similar meaning to “zero” include value of a function’s variables at zero, origin, zero point and nadir.

The opposite of “zero” — its antonyms — is pole.

Depending on how it is used, “zero” can be a num, a noun and a verb.

The word “zero” comes from French. Traces back through French and Italian to an Arabic word for "empty" or "nothing," which itself translated a Sanskrit term for the void — the same root that gives us "cipher.".

“Zero” is a fairly common word in modern English.

Zero is even. A number is even if it can be divided by two with no remainder, and zero divided by two is zero, leaving nothing over. It also sits between two odd numbers, minus one and one, on the number line, which fits the pattern of even numbers.

Zero is neither positive nor negative. It is the neutral point that separates the positive numbers from the negative ones on the number line. This is why it is sometimes called a 'signless' number: it marks the boundary between the two, belonging to neither side while still being a genuine number.

No. Division by zero is undefined in ordinary arithmetic. Dividing asks how many times one number fits into another, and zero fits into any number an endless, unanswerable number of times, so no single result makes sense. Calculators and computers usually return an error when asked to do it.

Nothing is a general idea meaning the absence of anything at all. Zero is the precise mathematical number that represents that absence, letting us count and calculate with 'none'. So zero is how mathematics writes down 'nothing' as a value you can add, subtract and place within larger numbers.