zero-graze, v.

zero-graze
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zero-graze_v%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2018

# zero-grazeverb

## Factsheet

### What does the verb zero-graze mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the verb zero-graze. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

### How common is the verb zero-graze?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1950 | 0.0015
1960 | 0.0018
1970 | 0.0021
1980 | 0.0023
1990 | 0.0026
2000 | 0.0029
2010 | 0.003

### Where does the verb zero-graze come from?

Earliest known use

1950s

The earliest known use of the verb zero-graze is in the 1950s.

OED's earliest evidence for zero-graze is from 1954, in Berkshire Evening Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachusetts).

### Nearby entries

1. zero derivation, n. 1960–
2. zero derivative, adj. & n. 1948–
3. zero-derived, adj. 1971–
4. zero-dimensional, adj. 1880–
5. zero-emission, n. & adj. 1952–
6. zero-energy, adj. 1947–
7. zero-field, adj. 1915–
8. zero-G, adj. & n. 1950–
9. zero grade, n. 1888–
10. zero gravity, n. & adj. 1915–
11. zero-graze, v.1954–
12. zero-grazed, adj. 1958–
13. zero grazing, n. 1954–
14. zero growth, n. 1907–
15. zero hour, n. 1915–
16. zero-hours, adj. 1988–
17. zeroing, n. 1906–
18. zeroize, v. 1894–
19. zero-length, adj. 1945–
20. zero-line, n. 1834–
21. zero magnet, n. 1890–

## Meaning & use

Agriculture.

1. 1954–
   transitive to feed (cattle) with cut grass brought to them instead of putting them out to pasture; cf. soil v.4 1.
   1. 1954

      > 180 milkers are being zero-grazed on only 40 acres this season.

      Berkshire Evening Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachusetts) 1 September 32/4
   2. 1970

      > Cows were zero-grazed and never stepped off concrete.

      R. Jeffries, Dead Man's Bluff vi. 56
   3. 2008

      > The method of zero-grazing cattle..would condemn cattle to the very confined indoor existence that is being condemned when applied to poultry.

      Western Daily Press (Nexis) 18 January 14
   agriculture
   1. sup 1575–1836
      transitive. Falconry and Hunting. To give the last feed of the day to (a hawk, horse, or hound). Also with up. Obsolete.
   2. winter-feed 1606–
      transitive to feed or maintain (animals) during winter; to provide with winter fodder.
   3. soil 1608–
      transitive. To feed (horses, cattle, etc.) on fresh-cut green fodder, originally for the purpose of purging; †to feed up or fatten (fowls).
   4. supper 1666–
      transitive. Chiefly Scottish and English regional (northern). To give a final evening feed to (an animal), sometimes including bedding it down for…
   5. browse 1675–
      transitive. To feed (cattle, deer, goats, etc.) on the young shoots, leaves, and twigs of shrubs and trees; to allow (animals) to feed in this way.
   6. cake 1799–
      transitive. To feed (cattle or other livestock) on cake (cake, n. A.I.4b). Also intransitive.
   7. slop 1848–
      U.S. dialect and colloquial. To feed (pigs or cattle) with slops.
   8. mash 1859
      transitive. To feed (a horse) with a mash. Obsolete. rare.
   9. pair-feed 1944–
      transitive to feed two groups of (experimental animals) with a diet identical except for the item whose effects are being tested on one group.
   10. zero-graze 1954–
       transitive to feed (cattle) with cut grass brought to them instead of putting them out to pasture; cf. soil, v.⁴ 1.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Frequency

zero-graze typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

zero-graze is in frequency band 2, which contains words occurring between 0.001 and 0.01 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands

Frequency data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### Frequency of zero-graze, v., 1950–2010

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.

The overall frequency for a given word is calculated by summing frequencies for the main form of the word, any plural or inflected forms, and any major spelling variations.

For sets of homographs (distinct entries that share the same word-form, e.g. mole, n.¹, mole, n.², mole, n.³, etc.), we have estimated the frequency of each homograph entry as a fraction of the total Ngrams frequency for the word-form. This may result in inaccuracies.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the Google Books corpus.

Decade | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
1950 | 0.0015
1960 | 0.0018
1970 | 0.0021
1980 | 0.0023
1990 | 0.0026
2000 | 0.0029
2010 | 0.003

Originally published as part of the entry for zero, n. & adj.

zero, n. & adj. was revised in June 2018.