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English Club : Learn English : Vocabulary
Vocabulary : Idioms : American : zero tolerance

zero tolerance American English

Meaning: If something is given zero tolerance, it won't be accepted even once.

For example:

  • Because of the school's zero-tolerance policy, our boy was expelled for smoking just one cigarette.

  • How can a society based on Christian morals and forgiveness of sin have a zero-tolerance approach to petty crime?

Variety: This idiom is typically used in American English but may be used in other varieties of English too.

Quick Quiz:

If a zero-tolerance policy on crime is adopted, people are sent to jail after
  1. their first offence
  2. their first chance
  3. their first warning