zero

1. The figure 0, indicating the absence of magnitude, or nothing. 2. In thermometry, the point from which the figures on the scale start in one or the other direction; in the Celsius and Réaumur scales, z. indicates the freezing point for distilled water; in the Fahrenheit scale, it is 32° below the freezing point of water. [Sp. fr. Ar. sifr, cipher]

- absolute z. the lowest possible temperature, that at which the form of translational motion constituting heat is assumed no longer to exist, determined as −273.15°C or 0 kelvin.

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ze·ro 'zē-(.)rō, 'zi(ə)r-(.)ō n, pl zeros also zeroes

1) the arithmetical symbol 0 or 0 denoting the absence of all magnitude or quantity

2 a) the point of departure in reckoning specif the point from which the graduation of a scale (as of a thermometer) begins

b) the temperature represented by the zero mark on a thermometer

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ze·ro (zeґro) [Ital. “naught”] 1. the absence of all quantity or magnitude; naught. 2. the point on a thermometer scale at which the graduation begins; the ice point on the Celsius and Rйaumur scales and 32° below the ice point on the Fahrenheit.