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Glite Dictionary
🔍 To focus closely 🎯 To aim accurately
to zero in

to zero in

4 7.0
To adjust a gun or rifle so it shoots accurately at a set distance
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈziːroʊ ɪn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ajustar la mira

Examples

  • I put a 4 to 20 scope and tried to zero in at 100 yards at 10 power

    Blog text (7)

  • I put on another scope, 4 to 16 at 10 power, and tried to zero in at 100 yards.

    Blog text (7)

  • I put a 3 to 9 scope on the rifle and zeroed in at 100 yards.

    Blog text (7)

  • The hunter carefully zeroed in his rifle on the deer, ensuring he would hit the target accurately.

  • Before taking the shot, the marksman zeroed in on the bullseye to confirm his aim was true.

  • To improve his shooting skills, he practiced zeroing in on targets at various distances each weekend.

Synonyms

to zero
vsto zero in
  • Specialized
1 8.2

Adjust a gun sight so bullets hit the target at a chosen distance

is the same action but expressed as a phrasal form
to range in
vsto zero in
  • Specialized
1 7.8

To aim at a target with tools like radar or GPS

involves fine adjustment to hit accurately at one specific distance
to boresight
vsto zero in
  • Specialized
8.8

To align a sight with a barrel to make shots accurate

adjusts aim specifically to hit a target at a set distance

How Accurate

to calibrate
  • Specialized
36 6.0
to zero in
  • Specialized
4 7.0
to sight
19 7.9
to point
537 2.9

Surface Forms

zero in infinitive
zeroed in past
zeroed in past participle
zeroing in present participle
zeros in third person singular

Morphology

zero + in

The sense 'to focus or aim at a target' can be linked to 'zero' as a verb meaning to adjust sights and 'in' indicating direction, so the core idea is partially derivable from the parts. However, the technical shooting sense of 'zero' may be unfamiliar to many B1 learners and the extended, general-use phrasal meaning ('zero in on') is somewhat conventionalized, making the relation only partially transparent.

Etymology

Zero in comes from aiming a gun and moving the sights until the bullet hits the exact zero point on the target, with shooters bringing the sights in to that spot. That's why it means 'to adjust a firearm so it will hit a target accurately'.