ground zero

Definitions

1. The site of the former World Trade Center towers in New York City destroyed on 11 September 2001.
2. Originally, the point on the land or water surface below which a nuclear bomb detonates in the air; now also the point on such a surface at or above the detonation.
   countable, uncountable
3. The location of any disaster or violent assault.
   broadly, countable, uncountable
4. The point at which something begins.
   countable, figuratively, uncountable

Equivalents

8 more languages

Suominollapiste

Magyarepicentrum

Italianoterra zero

日本語グラウンドゼロ爆心地爆心地点落下地点+ 1 more

한국어그라운드 제로원폭점폭심지

Nederlandsmaalde nul

Portuguêsponto de impacto

Русскийэпице́нтр взрыва

Examples

“Some of the construction details (reinforcing rod splices, for example) [in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan] were often poor, and much of the concrete was definitely weak; thus some reinforced concrete buildings collapsed and suffered structural damage⟳ when within 2,000 feet of ground zero, and some internal wall paneling was demolished even up to 3,800 feet.”

“It's Christmas at ground zero / The button has been pressed / The radio / Just let⟳ us know⟳ / That this is not a test⟳”

“"This is ground zero," she said. "If regulators don't adopt⟳ a zero tolerance for violations of standards then what we will have⟳ are places that are going to have⟳ unacceptable environmental damage⟳."”

“Florida has been called a “ground zero” for climate change⟳ in America, as the state is expected to face⟳ the highest temperature rise⟳ in the southeast; […]”

“For Larson and other activists, Kamilo Beach has become⟳ ground zero of the crisis.”

“The two West Virginia local authorities accuse the distributors of turning Cabell county, with a population of just 90,000, into the “ground zero of the opioid epidemic sweeping the nation”, by flooding the area with nearly 100m opioid pills over a decade.”

“James Meredith's forced admission was a milestone in upending the old order⟳ in America's most segregated state, a kind of race⟳ relations ground zero.”

“Less than two years into the job, she has transformed Washington into ground zero of America’s education reform⟳ movement.”

“As we approached Ground Zero, I felt like⟳ I was entering a nightmare. There was little light⟳. Smoke⟳ hung in the air and mixed with suspended particles of debris, creating an eerie gray curtain. We sloshed through puddles left behind by the morning rain⟳ and the water used to fight⟳ the fires.”

CEFR level