Thesaurus results for GROUND ZERO

ground zero

noun

Definition of ground zero

as in center

a thing or place that is of greatest importance to an activity or interest a city that was once ground zero for the insurance industry

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of ground zero The operation may now be down to 36 spots and deep dish may not be the preferred style of locals who like to be contrarian, but the Pizzeria Uno on Ohio Street remains ground zero for a Chicago cultural phenomenon. — Edward Robert McClelland, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026 In Europe, multiethnic capitals are pilloried by the far right as demographic time bombs, ground zero for invasions of unwanted foreigners. — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2026 Based on interviews with 10current and former Goddard workers, as well as several independent space policy experts, Goddard is ground zero for these sweeping changes. — Eric Niiler, Scientific American, 22 Sep. 2026 However, the effects were typically short-lived, occurring in the days and weeks after the explosion and confined to the area around ground zero, the test site. — Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 17 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for ground zero

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ground zero

Noun

Janabi said one of the biggest challenges has been persuading those who are infected to seek medical assistance, adding that some deaths occur in the community outside of health centers.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
Still, if the new CBS is managing to hold the center in Washington, there’s been a far more dramatic shift in coverage of Israel and Gaza.

— semafor.com, semafor.com, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of center

Noun

While the company is a private-sector operator, it is backed by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and International Holding Company, which is affiliated with state capital.

— Melissa Hancock, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb also met with the Ukrainian president in Norway's capital.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of capital

Noun

Culver City explored emergency moratoriums on building permits for AV fleet facilities, while Santa Monica used local noise and traffic ordinances to restrict 24-hour charging hubs.

— Andrew Hawkins, The Verge, 18 Oct. 2026
Those improvements are expected to expand classroom and theater space and create a more centralized hub for students.

— Neil Nakahodo, Kansas City Star, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of hub

Noun

Food meccas include Pier 57 (hit Nom Wah for legendary dim sum, or LoLo’s on the Water for the fish fry) and, of course, Chelsea Market (try Miznon’s pita cheeseburger and roasted cauliflower, and Ayada’s mango sticky rice).

— The New Yorker, New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2026
Rubin’s face followed a skin-first technique beloved by the wider beauty mecca for the last few years.

— Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of mecca

Noun

Anthropic made OpenAI's ads push the focus of its first Super Bowl campaign and pledged to keep its competing chatbot, Claude, ad free.

— Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2026
Anthropic’s lobbying form lists the Collaboration on Adversarial Threats and Security Risks Act, a bill that would allow labs to coordinate with each other on security risks, as a point of focus for the company on Capitol Hill.

— Ashley Gold, semafor.com, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of focus

Noun

Last weekend in Highland, Michigan, Rogers dismissed El-Sayed's attempts to whittle away at his GOP base of support.

— Aaron Navarro, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
The entry-level system for this 16-inch AI workstation is outfitted with Nvidia’s base-model 18-core RTX Spark N1X chip, which uses the 18-core Grace CPU processor, and its Blackwell GPU with 5,120 CUDA cores.

— Brian Westover, PC Magazine, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of base

Browse Nearby Words

groundworks

ground zero

ground zeros

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Ground zero.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ground%20zero. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of ground zero

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on ground zero

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

puissant

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes