zoom

1 of 3

verb (1)

ˈzüm 

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)

ˈzüm 

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

Synonyms

Verb (1)

• bumble
• burr
• buzz
• drone
• hum
• whir
• whirr
• whish
• whiz
• whizz
• zip

Noun

• burr
• buzz
• chirr
• churr
• drone
• hum
• purr
• thrum
• whir
• whirr
• whiz
• whizz

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

Without bees, moths, weevils, and more zooming around and spreading plants’ reproductive cells, plants and important crops would not grow. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 21 May 2025

Men on electric scooters zoomed past a square where prisoners used to be beheaded, now a few blocks away from a gleaming new metro station. —Vivian Nereim, New York Times, 16 May 2025

Noun

Precision all-glass optics with 6x optical image magnification and a unique electronic image zoom system provide up to 36x magnification. —Matt Morris, Space.com, 25 May 2025

Cinematographer Carlos Rigo and editor Arturo Sosa groove along with eye-catching colors and skateboard-video-style visuals, even inserting B-roll from a camera strapped to a horse’s head and doing a dramatic zoom to a sheep. —Amy Nicholson, Twin Cities, 15 May 2025

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

Phrases Containing zoom

• zoom in
• zoom lens
• zoom out

Rhymes for zoom

• blume
• boom
• broom
• doom
• flume
• fume
• gloom
• glume
• groom
• loom
• plume
• rheum

Kids Definition

zoom

1 of 3 verb

ˈzüm 

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 3 noun

1

: an act or process of zooming

2

: a zooming sound

Zoom

3 of 3 verb

: to use the Zoom service to hold or participate in online meetings with enabled video support