year zero

noun

a non-existing (but often assumed) year in between 1 BCE/BC and 1 CE/AD

“What was life in Rome like around the year zero?”

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Meanings

nounyear zero (uncountable)
  1. literallyuncountablea non-existing (but often assumed) year in between 1 BCE/BC and 1 CE/AD

    The new millennium only began in 2001 because there is no year zero!

  2. broadlyuncountablethe beginning of the Common Era/Christian Era

    What was life in Rome like around the year zero?

Cite this entry
APA

year zero. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/year%20zero

MLA

“year zero.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/year%20zero. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “year zero,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/year%20zero.

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