ground zero
noun
1
: the point directly above, below, or at which a nuclear explosion occurs
2
: the center or origin of rapid, intense, or violent activity or change
broadly
: center sense 2a
the party town that served as ground zero for those corporate … bashes —
Rich Eisen
Rich Eisen 3
: the very beginning : square one
Examples of ground zero in a Sentence
ground zero in the battle over immigration laws
a city that was once ground zero for the insurance industry
Recent Examples on the Web
Fox is ground zero for the kinds of vicious lies about immigrants that Trump has been spewing on the presidential stage for a decade.
—Marjorie García, Billboard, 26 June 2025
From Garage Grit to Global Scale—Financed by Betting the Family Home
At just 18, Namit Malhotra turned his father’s garage in Mumbai into ground zero for what would become a global media empire.
—Sindhya Valloppillil, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
There are few clues that two years ago, this campus was ground zero for a massive uprising against the administration of then-President Macky Sall.
—Adrien Marotte, Christian Science Monitor, 12 May 2025
There are a handful of schools with about 2,000 children within a half-mile of ground zero of the toxic Tijuana River, the place where a swamp gas leeches out and spreads over our neighborhoods.
—Tom Csanidi, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ground zero
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Marjorie García, Billboard, 26 June 2025
From Garage Grit to Global Scale—Financed by Betting the Family Home
At just 18, Namit Malhotra turned his father’s garage in Mumbai into ground zero for what would become a global media empire.
—Sindhya Valloppillil, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
There are few clues that two years ago, this campus was ground zero for a massive uprising against the administration of then-President Macky Sall.
—Adrien Marotte, Christian Science Monitor, 12 May 2025
There are a handful of schools with about 2,000 children within a half-mile of ground zero of the toxic Tijuana River, the place where a swamp gas leeches out and spreads over our neighborhoods.
—Tom Csanidi, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ground zero
Cite this Entry
“Ground zero.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ground%20zero. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share