zoom

1 of 3

verb (1)

zoomed; zooming; zooms

intransitive verb

1
a
: to move with a loud low hum or buzz
b
: to go speedily : zip
cars zooming by on the highway
2
of an airplane : to climb for a short time at an angle greater than that which can be maintained in steady flight so that the machine is carried upward at the expense of stored kinetic energy
3
a
: to focus a camera or microscope on an object using a zoom lens so that the object's apparent distance from the observer changes
often used with in or out
b
: focus, zero
used with in
trying to zoom in on the cause of these problems
4
: to increase sharply
retail sales zoomed

transitive verb

: to cause to zoom

zoom

2 of 3

noun

1
a
: an act or process of zooming
especially : a sharp upward movement
b
: an image created by zooming
2
: a zooming sound
3
: a means of producing an enlarged image (as in a camera)
specifically : zoom lens

Zoom

3 of 3

verb (2)

Zoomed; Zooming; Zooms

intransitive verb

: to use the Zoom service to hold or participate in online meetings with enabled video support
… last week I Zoomed with friends in Ireland that I hadn't talked to in years …Megan Schuster and Michael Surrey
In the other room, while I was slacking off, my wife would be Zooming with her coworkers …Andrew Hamm
There's little doubt students who spend their summer Zooming with state legislators, journalists and commissioners are going to be future leaders.Joyce M. Davis

Examples of zoom in a Sentence

Verb (1) They got in the car and zoomed away. The group of bicycle racers zoomed past. After her first successful cases she zoomed to the top of her profession. Housing sales have zoomed in recent months. Noun The camera was equipped with a zoom. The truck went by with a zoom.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Although wind has fallen behind, solar has zoomed up, particularly in China, and Rystad believe the goal is still achievable. Ian Palmer, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 Otherwise, Patrick Mahomes just might zoom past them for a third straight Lombardi Trophy and his fourth in six years with the Kansas City Chiefs. Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 22 Feb. 2024 Florida improved to 16-3-2 since Dec. 23, a stretch in which the Panthers have zoomed up the Atlantic Division standings to draw within striking distance of first-place Boston. Will Graves, USA TODAY, 15 Feb. 2024 If a driver is caught zooming past a bus with its stop signs out, the violation could result in a $225 fine. Miami Herald, 22 Feb. 2024 Its camera system can snap clear and detailed photos up to a whopping 100x zoom. Rudie Obias, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Jan. 2024 With a classical piano piece playing in the background, The Kardashians star then zoomed into the TV screen which displayed a picture of a living room that had a large window view of a river. Gabrielle Rockson, Peoplemag, 29 Jan. 2024 The two zoom into each other and crash, as Squibb plows Roundtree’s scooter out of the way. Variety, NBC News, 19 Jan. 2024 Shares of Vizio zoomed up 25% on the report Tuesday, to $9.75/share, pushing the company’s market cap to over $1.9 billion. Todd Spangler, Variety, 14 Feb. 2024
Noun
Only the larger iPhone 15 Pro Max has the 5x optical zoom capability, while the iPhone 15 Pro caps out at 3x optical zoom. Florence Ion / Gizmodo, Quartz, 9 Mar. 2024 Compared directly to Samsung, the primary camera sensor appears to have a lower resolution, but realistically, Samsung is mostly using that sensor for digital zoom and oversampling in low-light conditions. Anshel Sag, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 Professional photo, video and audio equipment — detachable zoom lenses, stands, monopods, tripods, selfie sticks or other commercial equipment. Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 27 Feb. 2024 Yorgos wanted to shoot on zoom lenses and develop the scenes where actors could play the whole scene out. Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 27 Feb. 2024 Fan girls travel across the country to attend games, send coffee trucks to practice as a show of support and snap photos of players with powerful zoom lenses from front-row seats. John Yoon, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2024 The barrel includes the aforementioned lock switch, as well as discrete control rings to set the zoom and manual focus, but nothing else. PCMAG, 6 Feb. 2024 And by combining zoom capabilities, the S24 Ultra can deliver optical-quality zoom from 2x to 10x. CES 2024:CES highlighted the hottest gadgets and tools, often fueled by AI Samsung Galaxy:How to order the new phone Other AI uses Generative AI for photography may have captured the limelight today. Mike Feibus, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2024 The camera has four zoom levels ranging from .7 (extra wide angle) to 5X. The video quality is also impressive as is the quality of the microphone. Larry Magid, The Mercury News, 4 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'zoom.' 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

Verb (1)

imitative

Verb (2)

verbal derivative of Zoom trademarked name of a software program for teleconferencing

First Known Use

Verb (1)

1886, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun

1917, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (2)

2014, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of zoom was in 1886

Dictionary Entries Near zoom

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

zoom

1 of 2 verb
1
: to speed along with a loud low hum or buzz
cars zooming down the highway
2
: to gain altitude quickly
the rocket zoomed into the sky

zoom

2 of 2 noun
1
: an act or process of zooming
2
: a zooming sound

More from Merriam-Webster on zoom

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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