ground zero

1. The center or primary location of some disaster. Volunteers at ground zero have been describing scenes of chaos caused by the hurricane's destructive force. We'll set up a post at ground zero and try to reunite family members displaced by the earthquake. Yes, we've heard about the devastating tornado—members of the Red Cross are on their way to ground zero now.

2. The target or location of some violent act of destruction, especially a bombing. The prime minister toured the destruction at ground zero following the enemy bombardment. The president has got to get to ground zero ASAP and show his support for the community affected by the bombing. I never expected my government office building to become ground zero for a terrorist attack—which was probably naïve of me, looking back.

3. The site of New York City's World Trade Center following its destruction during the attacks on September 11, 2001. In this usage, the phrase is usually capitalized. Visiting Ground Zero still leaves me filled with grief beyond words, even after all these years. We visited the World Trade Center on a school trip to New York mere months before 9/11. It's wild to see it again now, as Ground Zero. As soon as Ground Zero came into view, I was instantly reminded of what I was doing on that fateful morning in 2001.

4. The earliest possible starting point; the most basic, fundamental, or preliminary level. The folder with my outline and notes got deleted, so now I have to start the whole project again from ground zero. We don't have time to start from ground zero, so let's just reuse the assets we made for the last project. A: "The teacher didn't approve your topic?" B: "Nope. So now I have to start at ground zero and pick something else."

ground zero

The site of any disaster; specifically, and often capitalized (Ground Zero), the site of New York’s World Trade Center, wrecked by airplanes on September 11, 2001. Originally the term designated the central point of a nuclear detonation or similar large blast, but since the attacks of 2001, often referred to simply as nine-eleven, it has been used both specifically and metaphorically. It was first used with reference to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 and then was extended to other disasters, such as earthquakes. Referring to the economic downturn, a character in Ian Rankin’s novel The Complaints (2009) asked, “Does nobody realize this is Credit Crunch Ground Zero?”

See also: ground, zero

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References in periodicals archive

Another study conducted by the New York City Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control found that almost 40% of residents living near ground zero had symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

When the dust settles: it may be years before insurers see the last of the disability claims related to Sept. 11. (Life/Health)

Under the government's protocol, hogs within the 1-kilometer radius of the infected farm, or ground zero, shall be depopulated or culled through approved humane measures.

Mystery hog disease struck 4 sites-DA

"Iyong pinaka-simbolismo kasi na may nangyayari, iyong Ground Zero. Hanggang wala pang nangyayari sa Ground Zero, parang iyong impresyon wala pang nangyayari talaga," she added.

Robredo renews call to hasten rehabilitation of Marawi City

Salima Ampaso, a former resident of Barangay Datu Naga, one of the villages inside Marawi's ground zero, said she was relieved to be included in the first batch of beneficiaries at the Boganga site, noting her family had been enduring poor living conditions in the evacuation center.

In Marawi, 550 houses ready for families displaced by siege

The building, located two blocks north of Ground Zero, opened in September 2011 amid fiery debate over whether an Islamic institution should be permitted to break ground so close to the site of the September 11 attacks.

New York City's Park51 Islamic Cultural Center Files Permits for Demolition

Trauma and Transformation at Ground Zero escorts readers to the top of the "Pile," that nine-story high mountain of concrete, steel, and glass that was all that remained of the World Trade Center after the horrific terrorist attacks of 9/11.

Trauma and Transformation at Ground Zero: A Pastoral Theology

DAVID Cameron paid his respects to the victims of the 9/11 terror attacks as he visited Ground Zero in New York City yesterday.

PM pays respects to the victims of 9/11; Progress made but it is hard, says Cameron

NEW YORK VISIT: Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha talk with Charles Wolf (right) - who lost his wife Katherine during 911 - and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (left) during a visit to the memorial at the Ground Zero

PM pays his respects at Ground Zero

This paper offers a critical analysis of how we should attempt to understand the meaning of Ground Zero a decade after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Finding meaning at Ground Zero for future generations: some reflections a decade after 9/11

RISING FROM THE ASHES Smoke swirls around the site of the Twin Towers 12 days after the attack while (right) the new One World Trade Center rises over Manhattan's skyline AFTER THE BIG CLEAN-UP View of Ground Zero facing north on West Street and (below) as it is today LOOK TO THE FUTURE Medical and emergency workers point to where the towers used to be and sightseers (right) in exactly the same spot beside the Millennium Hilton CLOUD OVER BROADWAY Cloud of ash rolls down Broadway and pedestrians pass the same McDonald's FLAMES TO FREEDOM Fires rage after the Towers were hit and (right) One World Trade Center - the Freedom Tower - takes shape GONE, NEVER FORGOTTEN Visitors gaze at the wreckage of the collapsed Towers and (below) Ground Zero is now a memorial to the dead

Then & now: How symbols of hope are rising from the rubble of despair

Ken Wilkinson was injured while working at Ground Zero on the cleanup.

The man with two bodies

The Joyce has long participated in Lower Manhattan through its Evening Stars programs in Battery Park--just blocks from Ground Zero. This month it produces a special program to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

We will never forget

New York, July 31 (ANI): Calls are mounting for the renaming of Nework's "Ground Zero," the venue of the September 11, 2001 terrortrike launched by Al Qaeda.

Calls mount for renaming New York's 'Ground Zero' ahead of 9/11 anniversary

Summary: A Hamas leader on Monday said Muslims "have to build" a mosque near ground zero.

Zahar supports building mosque near ground zero