zoo

1 of 2

noun

ˈzü 

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

Synonyms

Noun

• ado
• alarums and excursions
• ballyhoo
• blather
• bluster
• bobbery
• bother
• bustle
• clatter
• clutter [chiefly dialect]
• coil
• commotion
• corroboree [Australian]
• disturbance
• do [chiefly dialect]
• foofaraw
• fun
• furor
• furore
• fuss
• helter-skelter
• hoo-ha
• hoo-hah
• hoopla
• hubble-bubble
• hubbub
• hullabaloo
• hurly
• hurly-burly
• hurricane
• hurry
• hurry-scurry
• hurry-skurry
• kerfuffle [chiefly British]
• moil
• pandemonium
• pother
• row
• ruckus
• ruction
• rumpus
• shindy
• splore [Scottish]
• squall
• stew
• stir
• storm
• to-do
• tumult
• turmoil
• uproar
• welter
• whirl
• williwaw

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

The 30-year-old originally wanted to be a vet, but then got a job at a small zoo that changed everything. —Meredith Wilshere, People.com, 17 May 2025

Trapping and killing a bear like this is considered a last resort, and while cubs can sometimes be moved or rehomed at a zoo or sanctuary, an adult male like this one was not a good candidate, rangers said. —Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 17 May 2025

At the zoo, falling trees severely damaged the roof of a butterfly facility. —Dylan Lovan, Twin Cities, 17 May 2025

Hang out at the petting zoo for the best people watching There’s nothing like seeing suburbanites who probably think meat comes from Erewhon fairies stand with terror in their eyes as bleating sheep and goats swarm them asking for pellets. —Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2025

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 *g^wi̯éh₃-(u)- "live" (whence also Tocharian B śāyau "[I] live"), full grade of a stem attested elsewhere with zero grade as *g^wih₃-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

Phrases Containing zoo

• petting zoo

Rhymes for zoo

• blew
• blue
• boo
• brew
• chew
• chou
• clue
• coo
• coup
• crew
• cue
• dew

Kids Definition

zoo

noun

ˈzü 

plural zoos

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