year zero
Britishnoun
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the beginning (1975) of the period during which Cambodia was under the control of the Khmer Rouge
-
the beginning of revolutionary change
-
the beginning of any new system or regime
Etymology
Origin of year zero
C20: by analogy with Year One of the French Revolutionary calendar
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
According to the Skirball Cultural Center’s new exhibition, “Outsiders, Outcasts, Rebels + Weirdos: Punk Culture 1976-86,” which opens Wednesday, punk’s year zero was 1976, when the Ramones debuted their self-titled record.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
"Punk rock was like year zero for us," picks up Bono.
From BBC ● May 22, 2025
Since the end of that 2009 season when the future looked so bright, there had been five losing seasons and, until this year, zero conference titles.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 28, 2023
But in my mind, especially those first couple Modest Mouse records — “The Lonesome Crowded West” being the ultimate one — that to me is almost a new cultural year zero for Northwest indie rock.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 26, 2023
Normally this would be no big deal; most calendars of that day started with the year one, not the year zero.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
