zero line

noun

The very front of the front line, where opposing armed forces meet and engage in direct combat, especially the border between (US forces in) Afghanistan and Pakistan, or between Ukrainian and Russian forces.

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Meanings

nounzero line (plural zero lines)

plural zero lines

  1. The very front of the front line, where opposing armed forces meet and engage in direct combat, especially the border between (US forces in) Afghanistan and Pakistan, or between Ukrainian and Russian forces.

    Outside of the main roads and major cities, life in small-town Ukraine rides a razor's edge on the “zero line” where two armies collide.

    2023 March 18, “The Forgotten Villages of Ukraine's 'Zero Line'”, in Rolling Stone
    1 more example

    Half an hour's drive from the zero line, an unassuming village house marks an important landmark for those unfortunate enough to need to […]

    2023 April 11, “'They crawl forward 24/7:' On the zero line with Ukrainian infantry north of Bakhmut”, in The Kyiv Independent

Translations

Russian нулева́я ли́ния, ноль
  • нулева́я ли́ния (nulevája línija)the very front of the front line
  • ноль (nolʹ)the very front of the front line
  • нуль (nulʹ)the very front of the front line
Cite this entry
APA

zero line. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zero%20line

MLA

“zero line.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zero%20line. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “zero line,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zero%20line.

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