zerohttp://www.oed.com/dictionary/zero_v%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_usezero, v.
Revised 2018

zeroverb

  1. 1.
    1813
    † transitive. Apparently: to make (a person) ineffective or powerless. Obsolete. rare.
    1. 1813
      Lord Cathcart..permits me to go on a visit to my friends in command, but he ‘wishes to have no report of what I hear or see, as it would be indelicate to have any papers contradicting the official document.’ This is indeed zeroing me.
      R. Wilson, Private Diary March (1861) vol. I. 309
  2. 2.
    1911–
    transitive. To set the sights of (a rifle) by testing it with targets at known distances. Also with on. Cf. zero n. A.6, to zero in 1 at Phrasal verbs.
    1. 1911
      Team practise began on June 22 at Fort Sheridan, it being considered best to ‘zero’ all guns there on account of the protected nature of the range.
      Infantry Journal (U.S.) January 630
    2. 1958
      I had not yet fired at a live target, though..I had zeroed it on a marked one.
      L. van der Post, Lost World of Kalahari vii. 142
    3. 1979
      The rifle had been zeroed..at an elevation of 200.
      D. Lowden, Boudapesti 3 xxxii. 176
    4. 2015
      To zero a rifle, you line up on the target and shoot five times.
      J. Mitic, Unflinching i. ii. 23
  3. 3.
    1926
    † transitive. To schedule a time for the beginning of (a military operation). Cf. zero hour n. 1. Obsolete. rare.
    1. 1926
      Plan No. 7 will be put in operation to-night. It will be zeroed as from 23 00 hours.
      Blackwood's Magazine December 774/1
  4. 4.
    1928–
    transitive. To adjust (an instrument or device) to give a zero reading, esp. for the purposes of calibration.
    1. 1928
      The man in the field will be quick to appreciate how simple a job it is to clean the Foxboro Orifice Meters. After cleaning and assembling the meter is zeroed by a simple micrometer adjustment.
      National Petroleum News 13 June 51 (advertisement)
    2. 1938
      The manometer..to be set up, levelled, zeroed and read rapidly and easily under the unfavourable conditions of an open dune during a sandstorm.
      Proceedings of Royal Society A. vol. 167 283
    3. 1969
      He checked the odometer which he had zeroed at the Porte de Versailles. Three more kilometres, then a right turn.
      B. Weil, Dossier IX v. 34
    4. 1982
      One button..can zero the read-out at any point, allowing you to add ingredients without emptying the bowl.
      Homes & Gardens January 17/3
    5. 2010
      The transducing system should be zeroed to atmospheric pressure.
      J. J. Nagelhout et al., Handbook Nurse Anesthesia (ed. 4) xvii. 331/2
  5. 5.
    1965–
    transitive. To reduce to zero; to eliminate, remove; to omit, leave out. Cf. to zero out at Phrasal verbs.
    1. 1965
      We can zero a repetitive subject under W: (1) We prefer our studying French. → We prefer studying French.
      Language vol. 41 397
    2. 1973
      Etymologies of words subsequently zeroed from the vocabulary of Webster's Third have been replaced.
      Word 1966 vol. 22 7
    3. 1990
      A graphic appeared on the screen. ‘Zero Screen 311!’ he bellowed.
      Tennis July 86/2

zero, v. was revised in June 2018.

zero, v. was last modified in June 2025.