Meaning of intrinsic type with () in C++

What does it mean when an intrinsic type has the parenthesis operators with it. e.g. int() or float() Is it like a default constructor or does it have a different meaning for intrinsic types? ----edit---- To add more context: In my school textbook for C++, I am on a chapter about Templates. A template being used for demonstration is a Table template (a 2D array). One of the functions for Table is a resize method to change the dimensions of the table and is also used in some constructors used for Table. The constructor in question and the resize method are: ``` template <typename T> Table<T>::Table<T>(int m, int n) { mDataMatrix = 0; mNumRows = 0; mNumCols = 0; resize(m, n, T()); } ``` and ``` template <typename T> void Table<T>::resize(int m, int n, const T& value) { // Destroy the previous data. destroy(); // Save dimensions. mNumRows = m; mNumCols = n; // Allocate a row (array) of pointers. mDataMatrix = new T*[mNumRows]; // Now, loop through each pointer in this row array. for(int i = 0; i < mNumRows; ++i) { // And allocate a column (array) to build the table. mDataMatrix[i] = new T[mNumCols]; // Now loop through each element in this row[i] // and copy 'value' into it. for(int j = 0; j < mNumCols; ++j) mDataMatrix[i][j] = value; } } ``` In the constructor definition, resize's third argument is T() (and I assume T becomes whatever the specified type for the template is). In the definition for resize, T() is used for the value argument to assign a default value to the elements in the table. From some of the earlier answers, this is zero-initialization. I assume that means the value is 0 for each element in the table (or some equivalent of 0 if the type is a string, I guess). Is this correct?