sub-zero

adjective

below 0°C; freezing cold

OriginEnglish zero ← Latin sub- →
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

adjectivesub-zero (not comparable)
  1. not comparablebelow 0°C; freezing cold

    Several days of sub-zero temperatures caused icicles up to 1.5 metres long to form in tunnels across Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cumbria.

    2021 February 24, “Network News: NR takes pride in track teams as effects of Storm Darcy repelled...”, in RAIL, number 925, page 13
  2. USnot comparablebelow 0°F (−18°C)

Origin

  1. Latinsub
  2. Latinsub-
  3. Englishsub-
  4. Englishzero
  5. Englishsub-zero

From sub- + zero.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic تَحْتَ الصِّفْر
  • تَحْتَ الصِّفْر (taḥta ṣ-ṣifr)(of a temperature) below 0°C
Bulgarian отрица́телен, под ну́лата
  • отрица́телен (otricátelen)(of a temperature) below 0°C
  • под ну́лата (pod núlata)(of a temperature) below 0°C
Chinese Mandarin 零下
  • 零下 (língxià)(of a temperature) below 0°C
Czech pod nulou
  • pod nulou(of a temperature) below 0°C
French au-dessous de zéro
  • au-dessous de zéro(of a temperature) below 0°C
German unter Null
  • unter Null(of a temperature) below 0°C
Italian sotto zero
  • sotto zero(of a temperature) below 0°C
Japanese 氷点下, 零下
  • 氷点下 (hyōtenka)(of a temperature) below 0°C
  • 零下 (reika)(of a temperature) below 0°C
Korean 영하, 령하
  • 영하 (yeongha)(of a temperature) below 0°C
  • 령하 (ryeongha)(of a temperature) below 0°C
Norwegian Bokmål minusgrader
  • minusgrader(of a temperature) below 0°C
Polish poniżej zera
  • poniżej zera(of a temperature) below 0°C
Russian ни́же нуля́, минусово́й
  • ни́же нуля́ (níže nuljá)(of a temperature) below 0°C
  • минусово́й (minusovój)(of a temperature) below 0°C
Slovak pod nulou
  • pod nulou(of a temperature) below 0°C
Spanish bajo cero
  • bajo cero(of a temperature) below 0°C
Ukrainian ни́жче нуля́, мінусо́вий
  • ни́жче нуля́ (nýžče nuljá)(of a temperature) below 0°C
  • мінусо́вий (minusóvyj)(of a temperature) below 0°C
Cite this entry
APA

sub-zero. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sub-zero

MLA

“sub-zero.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sub-zero. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sub-zero,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sub-zero.

Source: sub-zero on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.