zero-base

[ zeer-oh-beys ]

/ ˈzɪər oʊˌbeɪs /

Save This Word!

adjective

Also zero-based . without reference to a base figure or to previous practice; according to present needs only, as opposed to a percentage increase or decrease of previous figures: zero-base planning; zero-base inventory.

verb (used with object), ze·ro-based, ze·ro-bas·ing.

to apply zero-base methods to.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON “ITS” VS. “IT’S”!

Apostrophes can be tricky; prove you know the difference between "it’s" and "its" in this crafty quiz!

Question 1 of 8

On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.

it's

its

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of zero-base

First recorded in 1965–70

Words nearby zero-base

Zermatt, Zermelo's axiom, Zernike, zero, zero balancing, zero-base, zero-base budgeting, zero-coupon, zero defects, zero-divisor, zero-emission

How to use zero-base in a sentence

Paperback publishers distributed their titles in African-American neighborhoods because it expanded their market base.
How Pulp Fiction Saved Literature|Wendy Smith|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
If ISIS “came into a base and killed hundreds of troops, then people would ask a lot more questions.”
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War|Nancy A. Youssef|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Huckabee will also need to establish a reliable fundraising base, something that up until now has proved to be elusive.
Can Huckabee Convert the GOP’s Moneymen?|Lloyd Green|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Both are considered marginal figures in the House GOP caucus and have no real base of support for their respective bids.
The YOLO Caucus' New Cry for Attention|Ben Jacobs|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Not quite, but at one point the temperature registered 29 below zero, with 21 inches of snow.
Speed Read: The Juiciest Bits From the History of ‘Purple Rain’|Jennie Yabroff|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The upper part of the stem is usually unbranched, but whorls of branches occur towards the base.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
It is a vile world because it is an under-educated world, unreasonable, suspicious, base and ferocious.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
But the day he planned to start was very cold—the mercury stood twenty-seven below zero.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
In ordinary work, however, it is safer to base the distinction upon size than upon structure.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
If he married that base-born creature Dorothy, no respectable person would ever enter the house.
The World Before Them|Susanna Moodie