How to Use zero tolerance in a Sentence

zero tolerance

noun
  • One parent asked what law enforcement was doing about the supply of drugs to students. Arlington County Police Deputy Chief Wayne Vincent said the county has zero tolerance for people dealing drugs to kids and urged anyone with information about the source of drugs in the community to report it.
    — Karina Elwood, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2023
  • Police need to double down on zero tolerance.
    — Naperville Sun, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2026
  • With Mistress, there are no safe words, no mercy, and zero tolerance for drag delusion.
    — Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 23 Apr. 2025
  • The court has a zero tolerance policy for drinking while on bond, unbeknownst to him.
    — Paulina Dedaj, FOXNews.com, 8 Aug. 2025
  • The Department of War has zero tolerance for it.
    — James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
  • What baseball has to do, in the future, is make sure its teams show zero tolerance for this type of discrimination.
    — Mike Freeman, USA TODAY, 10 June 2023
  • Some homes conducted regular drug tests and had zero tolerance.
    — Jack Healy, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2023
  • Franklin has a zero tolerance policy for any kind of fireworks, including sparklers.
    — Andy Humbles, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
  • However, a third said that OP did the right thing and that there should be a zero tolerance for bullying.
    — Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 18 Dec. 2025
  • This department maintains a strict policy of zero tolerance for any misuse of funds.
    — Christopher Derose, CBS News, 17 Feb. 2026
  • With Mistress, there are no safe words, no mercy, and zero tolerance for drag delusion … Get ready to submit.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 23 Apr. 2025
  • There must be zero tolerance for abuse, exploitation, and the silencing of victims, no matter who is involved.
    — City News Service, Daily News, 18 Mar. 2026
  • The City and the State should not only preach but also practice zero tolerance for antisemitism.
    — Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 2 Dec. 2024
  • Meanwhile, boomers have zero tolerance for tardiness.
    — Jessica Coacci, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2025
  • The development adds to a number of scandals in the financial hub known for its zero tolerance for corruption.
    — TIME, 20 Sep. 2023
  • Through it all, Cher has remained a woman with an incredibly sharp wit, and zero tolerance for BS.
    — Jordan Hoffman, EW.com, 20 May 2025
  • Musk and his new CEO need to demonstrate zero tolerance for that tactic, speaking with one voice—no exceptions.
    — John Rau, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2023
  • At the time, the FIGC vowed to implement zero tolerance measures, but the abuse shows no sign of going away.
    — Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, 3 Feb. 2024
  • The big takeaway that CBP wants to stress is its zero tolerance for marijuana crossing the border.
    — Mandi Wright, Detroit Free Press, 21 Nov. 2024
  • In a 2014 video, Fitzgerald said his program had a zero tolerance policy for hazing.
    — Kerry Breen, CBS News, 18 July 2023
  • Some 70% of boomers have zero tolerance for any level of tardiness, but Gen Z says that 10 minutes late is still on time.
    — Kristin Stoller, Fortune, 11 May 2026
  • The Israeli military, in a rare statement, condemned the settler violence and vowed zero tolerance.
    — Imad Isseid, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2026
  • So, the sheriff said her deputies will have zero tolerance for anyone firing guns into the air to celebrate the new year, because bullets have to fall back down and that can injure or kill someone.
    — Steve Maugeri, CBS News, 29 Dec. 2025
  • Cargill also said that had zero tolerance of the use of underage labor and ended their contract with PSSI.
    — Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 30 July 2023
  • There must be zero tolerance for activity that puts into question the integrity of competition.
    — Michael Silverman, BostonGlobe.com, 6 May 2023
  • As in the Columbine days, the new zero tolerance allows adults to abdicate responsibility for doing harder work in exchange for the quick fix.
    — Gayle Forman, Peoplemag, 18 July 2024
  • For the first time in my life, overdose prevention is gaining acceptance as our culture of tough love and zero tolerance is slowly losing credibility.
    — Ryan Hampton, Time, 15 Aug. 2023
  • Jack Osbourne has zero tolerance for hateful comments towards his late father, Ozzy Osbourne.
    — Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Homan said there will be zero tolerance for interfering, impeding or assaulting officers.
    — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 30 Jan. 2026
  • The Department has zero tolerance for assaults on federal officers or property and will bring the full weight of the law against those responsible.
    — Peter Aitken, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 July 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'zero tolerance.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: