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
Commenters on the zoo's Facebook page have shared their guesses for the identity of Britol's new mystery creature. Kelli Bender, People.com, 22 Oct. 2024 Part of the zoo, built in 1860 and the oldest park in Hong Kong, has remained shut since October 14 when authorities reported the first batch of monkey deaths. Reuters, CNN, 21 Oct. 2024 Lending pandas to zoos across the U.S. and other countries also encourages reproduction and helps save the giant pandas from extinction. Jennifer Borresen, USA TODAY, 15 Oct. 2024 The bears had long been one of the zoo’s main attractions, with the adult pandas having been there since 2000. Peter Guo, NBC News, 14 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for zoo 

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 31 Oct. 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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