year zero
Britishnoun
-
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.
The number of new, half-hour shows from the BBC so far this year: zero.
From BBC • Sep. 10, 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
If you’re looking for your NBA feel-good story of the year, zero in on a former Washington State Cougar with a stroke pretty enough for an art expo.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 4, 2022
This was the modern superhero year zero, thanks to the success of the Robert Downey Jr-powered Iron Man and Christopher Nolan’s broody Bat-sequel The Dark Knight.
From The Guardian • Aug. 8, 2020
The lack of a year zero began to cause problems two centuries later.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Definitions 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.
