section_path: Etymology/Modern usage
section_name: Modern usage
paragraph_text: Modern usage
  
  Depending on the context, there may be different words used for the number zero, or the concept of zero. For the simple notion of lacking, the words "nothing" and "none" are often used. The British English words "nought" or "naught", and " nil " are also synonymous.
  
  It is often called "oh" in the context of reading out a string of digits, such as telephone numbers, street addresses, credit card numbers, military time, or years. For example, the area code 201 may be pronounced "two oh one", and the year 1907 is often pronounced "nineteen oh seven". The presence of other digits, indicating that the string contains only numbers, avoids confusion with the letter O. For this reason, systems that include strings with both letters and numbers (such as Canadian postal codes) may exclude the use of the letter O.
  
  Slang words for zero include "zip", "zilch", "nada", and "scratch". In the context of sports, "nil" is sometimes used, especially in British English. Several sports have specific words for a score of zero, such as " love " in tennis – from French l'œuf, "the egg" – and " duck " in cricket, a shortening of "duck's egg". "Goose egg" is another general slang term used for zero.