zoo

1 of 2

noun

plural zoos
1
: a facility with usually indoor and outdoor settings where living, typically wild animals are kept especially for public exhibition

called also zoological garden, zoological park

2
: a place, situation, or group marked by crowding, confusion, or unrestrained behavior
The convention was a zoo.

zoo-

2 of 2

combining form

variants or before a vowel zo-
1
: animal : animal kingdom or kind
zooid
zoology
2
: motile
zoospore

Examples of zoo in a Sentence

Noun The sixth grade classroom was a zoo after recess. The supermarket was a real zoo on the night before the storm.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
In the last two pictures in the post, the siblings appeared to be enjoying an outing to the zoo. Esme Mazzeo, Peoplemag, 3 Mar. 2024 Locals will also choose visits to the zoo over other entertainment activities. Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Mar. 2024 Golden retriever nurses African painted dogs at zoo More Caitlin O'Kane Caitlin O'Kane is a New York City journalist who works on the CBS News social media team as a senior manager of content and production. Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 27 Feb. 2024 Some of the pandas were gradually sent to China, their native homeland, until the research loan officially ended in 2019, when Bai Yun and her youngest cub, the last pandas at the zoo, were also sent to China. Jenna Anderson, Sunset Magazine, 27 Feb. 2024 According to the necropsy report released Saturday, the owl weighed 1.89 kilograms (4.1 pounds), just 2% less than when he was last measured at the zoo. Cedar Attanasio, Fortune, 25 Feb. 2024 The owl had come to the zoo as a fledgling 13 years earlier. Dennis Romero, NBC News, 24 Feb. 2024 At first, zoo officials worried how Flaco would fare in the concrete jungle. Juliana Kim, NPR, 24 Feb. 2024 Veterinarians discovered the coins during a routine procedure involving blood collection and radiographs, the Omaha zoo said. Mike Stunson, Kansas City Star, 19 Feb. 2024

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

Word History

Etymology

Noun

short for zoological garden

Combining form

borrowed from Greek zōo-, zōio-, combining form from zôion "animal," derivative from the base of zṓō, zṓein (Homeric), zô, zên (Attic) "to be alive, live," going back to Indo-European *gwi̯éh3-(u)- "live" (whence also Tocharian B śāyau "[I] live"), full grade of a stem attested elsewhere with zero grade as *gwih3-u-, whence Latin vīvō, vīvere "to live," Old Church Slavic živǫ, žiti, Old Prussian giwa "(s/he) lives," Latvian dzīvu "(I) live," Sanskrit jīvati "(s/he) lives," Avestan juuaiti

Note: See also bio-, quick entry 1.

First Known Use

Noun

1835, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of zoo was in 1835

Dictionary Entries Near zoo

Cite this Entry

“Zoo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zoo. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

zoo

noun
plural zoos
: a garden or park where living usually wild animals are kept for showing to the public

More from Merriam-Webster on zoo

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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