Meanings
ground zero1
plural ground zeroes · alternative ground-zero
- countableuncountableOriginally, the point on the land or water surface below which a nuclear bomb detonates in the air; now also the point on such a surface at or above the detonation.
It's Christmas at ground zero / The button has been pressed / The radio / Just let us know / That this is not a test
1986, "Weird Al" Yankovic, “Christmas at Ground Zero”, in Polka Party!1 more example
Some of the construction details (reinforcing rod splices, for example) [in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan] were often poor, and much of the concrete was definitely weak; thus some reinforced concrete buildings collapsed and suffered structural damage when within 2,000 feet of ground zero, and some internal wall paneling was demolished even up to 3,800 feet.
1946 June 19, U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey, “The Effects of the Atomic Bombings”, in The Effects of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, [s.l.]: Chairman’s Office, →OCLC, archived from the original on 10 Aug 2021, page 5 - broadlycountableuncountableThe location of any disaster or violent assault.
For Larson and other activists, Kamilo Beach has become ground zero of the crisis.
2020 January 10, Liz Barney, Michelle Broder Van Dyke, “Welcome to Hawaii's ‘plastic beach’, one of the world's dirtiest places”, in The Guardian3 more examples
"This is ground zero," she said. "If regulators don't adopt a zero tolerance for violations of standards then what we will have are places that are going to have unacceptable environmental damage."
2011 April 21, Suzanne Goldenberg, quoting Jan Jarrett, “Pennsylvania: the ‘ground zero’ of the US shale gas drilling boom”, in The GuardianFlorida has been called a “ground zero” for climate change in America, as the state is expected to face the highest temperature rise in the southeast; […]
2019 October 17, Matt Stieb, “Florida GOP Regrets ‘Lost’ Decade on Climate Change”, in New York MagazineThe two West Virginia local authorities accuse the distributors of turning Cabell county, with a population of just 90,000, into the “ground zero of the opioid epidemic sweeping the nation”, by flooding the area with nearly 100m opioid pills over a decade.
2021 May 3, Chris McGreal, “‘Ground zero of the opioid epidemic’: West Virginia puts drug giants on trial”, in The Guardian - countablefigurativelyuncountableThe point at which something begins.
Less than two years into the job, she has transformed Washington into ground zero of America’s education reform movement.
2009 March 21, Nicholas Kristof, “Education’s Ground Zero”, in The New York Times, →ISSN1 more example
James Meredith's forced admission was a milestone in upending the old order in America's most segregated state, a kind of race relations ground zero.
1997 May 4, Adam Nossiter, “Ground Zero”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Ground Zero2
- The site of the former World Trade Center towers in New York City destroyed on 11 September 2001.
As we approached Ground Zero, I felt like I was entering a nightmare. There was little light. Smoke hung in the air and mixed with suspended particles of debris, creating an eerie gray curtain. We sloshed through puddles left behind by the morning rain and the water used to fight the fires.
2010, George W. Bush, Decision Points, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 148
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
ground zero · noun
From ground + zero, first attested in a June 1946 a report by the United States Strategic Bombing Survey on the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, on August 6 and 9, 1945, during World War II. “Zero” was used as the code name for the location of the Trinity atomic bomb test – the first detonation of a nuclear weapon – in New Mexico, USA, on July 16, 1945.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Basque zero gune
- zero gunepoint on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
Chinese Mandarin 爆心投影點 /爆心投影点, 原爆點 /原爆点
- 爆心投影點 /爆心投影点 (bàoxīn tóuyǐngdiǎn)point on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
- 原爆點 /原爆点 (yuánbàodiǎn)point on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
Dutch maalde nul
- maalde nulpoint on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
Esperanto nultero, Nultero
- nulteropoint on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
- Nulterosite of former World Trade Center
Estonian plahvatuse epitsenter
- plahvatuse epitsenterpoint on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
Finnish nollapiste
- nollapistepoint on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
French point zéro
- point zéropoint on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
German Bodennullpunkt, Ground Zero
- Bodennullpunktpoint on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
- Ground Zerosite of former World Trade Center
Hebrew גראונד זירו
- גראונד זירוpoint on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
Hungarian epicentrum
- epicentrumpoint on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
Italian terra zero
- terra zeropoint on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
Japanese グラウンドゼロ, 爆心地
- グラウンドゼロ (guraundozero)point on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
- 爆心地 (bakushinchi)point on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
- 爆心地点 (bakushin-chiten)point on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
- 落下地点 (rakka chiten)point on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
Korean 그라운드 제로, 폭심지
- 그라운드 제로 (geuraundeu jero)point on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
- 폭심지 (poksimji)point on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
- 원폭점 (wonpokjeom)point on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
Latin solum nihil, terra nihil
- solum nihilpoint on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
- terra nihilpoint on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
Polish strefa zero, strefa zero
- strefa zeropoint on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
- strefa zerolocation of any disaster or violent assault
- strefa zeropoint at which something begins
- Ground Zerosite of former World Trade Center
Portuguese ponto de impacto
- ponto de impactopoint on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
Russian эпице́нтр взрыва
- эпице́нтр взрыва (epicéntr vzryva)point on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
Spanish punto cero, tierra cero
- punto ceropoint on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
- tierra ceropoint on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
- zona ceropoint on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
- sitio del ex Centro Mundial Mercantilsite of former World Trade Center
Turkish yer sıfır noktası
- yer sıfır noktasıpoint on the land or water surface below, at, or above the detonation of a nuclear bomb
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with ground zero
All rhymes →Cite this entry
ground zero. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ground%20zero
“ground zero.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ground%20zero. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ground zero,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ground%20zero.
Source: ground zero on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.