zero out
phrasal verb
zeroed out; zeroing out; zeroes out
US
1
: to reduce the amount of (something) to zero
Be sure to zero out the account before you switch banks.
2
: to remove (something) completely
This program will be zeroed out in the budget for next year.
New legislation will zero out further funding for the project.
Examples of zero out in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The popular YouTube music critic Anthony Fantano gave the record a zero out of ten; Rolling Stone ranked it as one of the most disappointing albums of all time.
—
Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 20 Aug. 2025
The president's budget proposal, released in May, suggested zeroing out funding for CCAMPIS altogether.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2025
The Google Maps app, for example, has a privacy rating of zero out of 10 on the App Lounge.
—Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 5 Aug. 2025
The president’s budget request for fiscal year 2026 notably zeroes out funding for a joint program between NASA and the Department of Defense to develop nuclear rocketry.
—Lee Billings, Scientific American, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for zero out
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 20 Aug. 2025
The president's budget proposal, released in May, suggested zeroing out funding for CCAMPIS altogether.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2025
The Google Maps app, for example, has a privacy rating of zero out of 10 on the App Lounge.
—Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 5 Aug. 2025
The president’s budget request for fiscal year 2026 notably zeroes out funding for a joint program between NASA and the Department of Defense to develop nuclear rocketry.
—Lee Billings, Scientific American, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for zero out
Cite this Entry
“Zero out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zero%20out. Accessed 5 Sep. 2025.
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