zero

vt. 1. To set to 0. Usually said of small pieces of data, such as bits or
words (esp. in the construction zero out ). 2. To erase; to discard all data
from. Said of disks and directories, where zeroing need not involve actually
writing zeroes throughout the area being zeroed. One may speak of something
being logically zeroed rather than being physically zeroed. See scribble.

