Ground Zero
61
4.6
- noun
- /ɡraʊnd ˈziːroʊ/
:
zona cero
- Every year, a ceremony takes place at Ground Zero to remember the victims of the tragedy.
- the Ground Zero site
- work at Ground Zero
- exposed to Ground Zero
And I thank God that there's people like you who rushed towards Ground Zero to help other human beings.
- And I thank God that there's people like you who rushed towards Ground Zero to help other human beings.
- For all we know on, you know, that ambulance is driving into Ground Zero, is full of a bomb.
- history because everything that was at Ground Zero was transferred to Fishkill and we went through it there.
- And when we, when I get home, when I was living in Florida at the time, I flew up to New York to Ground Zero.
Examples
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After visiting Ground Zero, many felt a profound sense of loss and reflection.
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Had there been such an agency at Ground Zero, it could have made sure respiratory protection was emphasized from day one.
Academic text (2003) -
We went to Ground Zero, which was really, really sad.
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We arrived at Ground Zero and we immediately began to search.
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Something happened last night at one of the most iconic locations in New York the World Trade Center, Ground Zero.
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On a recent warm autumn afternoon, tourists had come to Ground Zero to see for themselves the site of the tragedy.
Academic text (2011) -
And I thank God that there's people like you who rushed towards Ground Zero to help other human beings.
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Exposure to Ground Zero was associated with a multitude of aerodigestive and respiratory issues.
Academic text (2009) -
Beauvais is also one of the ironworkers who toiled at Ground Zero after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Fiction book (2002) -
The memorial at Ground Zero honors those who lost their lives in the September 11 attacks.
Synonyms
4
3.7
An area in Lower Manhattan where the World Trade Center stood before 2001, now a rebuilt complex with memorials
Surface Forms
Morphology
ground + Zero
Although the constituents are familiar, 'ground' + 'zero' does not transparently yield the specific referent 'the World Trade Center site' — the phrase is a proper name borrowed from nuclear/explosion jargon (the point of detonation) and relies on cultural/historical knowledge. A B1 learner who knows 'ground' and 'zero' would not reliably infer this specific, culturally loaded meaning without prior exposure.
Etymology
Ground Zero comes from talk about bombs: the ground spot right under an explosion was called the zero point. After the 2001 attack, people used Ground Zero for the exact site in New York where the World Trade Center was destroyed, because it was the 'center' of the damage.