zero tolerancen.
/ˌzɪərəʊ ˈtɒl(ə)rəns/, /ˌzɪərəʊ ˈtɒl(ə)rn̩s/, U.S. /ˌzɪroʊ ˈtɑl(ə)rəns/, /ˌziroʊ ˈtɑl(ə)rəns/ Originally U.S.
1. Complete lack of tolerance for something; a stated policy of non-acceptance with regard to a specified situation, activity, substance, etc.
ΚΠ
1940 Lawrence (Kansas) Daily Jrnl.-World 14 Feb. 1/8 Northern states have set ‘zero tolerance’ as the goal for certified seed potatoes which are as free of the disease as in humanly possible.
1963 Pop. Mech. June 87/1 Heptachlor..is even more toxic and has been given a ‘zero tolerance’ by the FDA; that is, not even the slightest trace of heptachlor is permitted on food.
1972 N.Y. Times 6 Dec. 22/1 Federal officials..say the calculations..were based on ‘assuming zero tolerance’ from now on for ineligibility and overpayments.
1993 R. L. Zimdahl Fund. Weed Sci. xviii. 369 It can establish a zero tolerance that means none of the chemical is permitted in any crop.
2001 Mod. Railways Feb. 14/2 It measures its performance on zero tolerance of cancellations, but allows trains to run four hours late.
2. spec. Complete lack of tolerance for, or non-acceptance of, abusive, anti-social, or criminal behaviour, esp. the use of illegal drugs, typically enforced by strict and uncompromising application of the law; a stated policy of this kind, designed to eliminate such behaviour.
ΚΠ
1972 El Paso (Texas) Herald-Post 13 June d1/4 We need strong leadership from young officers and so we have zero tolerance for pot here.
1981 Associated Press Newswire (Nexis) 14 July There is what is called a ‘zero tolerance’ for any form of drug use among nuclear sub crewmen.
1988 Time Austral. (Sydney) 23 May 49/2 The Reagan administration calls its new drug policy ‘zero tolerance’, meaning that planes, vehicles and vessels may be confiscated for carrying even the smallest amount of a controlled substance.
1993 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 31 Aug. a4/1 Ms. Campbell said that her government will show ‘zero tolerance’ of violence against women.
2008 G. Brown in Times 14 Jan. 5/1 There are boundaries you cannot cross and one is this country's zero tolerance on knives.
Compounds
General attributive, as zero-tolerance approach, zero-tolerance policy, etc.
ΚΠ
1960 Adams County (Iowa) Free Press 4 Feb. 4/3 The federal government stepped up the enforcement of the ‘zero tolerance’ rule for antibiotics.
1986 Associated Press Newswire (Nexis) 15 Sept. A proposed new Drug-Free School Act, or ‘the Zero-Tolerance Act’.
1997 Daily Tel. 7 Jan. 1/2 The Labour leader pledged his support for ‘zero tolerance’ schemes pioneered in New York..in which the police target even the most minor criminal behaviour.
2009 Guardian 5 Feb. 25/4 The city's zero-tolerance policy towards petty crime has long eradicated painted graffiti from the trains.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1940