zoology

noun

zo·ol·o·gy zō-ˈä-lə-jē

zə-ˈwä-

: a branch of biology concerned with the classification and the properties and vital phenomena of animals

: animal life (as of a region) : fauna

: the properties and vital phenomena exhibited by an animal, animal type, or group

zoologist

zō-ˈä-lə-jist

zə-ˈwä-

noun

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web His paper offered possible causal mechanisms based on zoology, including the role of pheromones and tactile, olfactory, and auditory cues. —

Madeleine Watts, Harper’s Magazine , 25 May 2022 James Rose, an avid angler and professor emeritus of zoology at the University of Wyoming, has claimed fish don’t possess a human-like capacity for pain because our nociceptors—neural cells that transmit pain reflexively—are different. —

Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 15 Mar. 2023 Dolph Schluter, a professor of zoology at the University of British Columbia in Canada, began studying the finches in the late 1970s. —

Ashley Strickland, CNN, 4 Feb. 2023 They’re known to have an aggressive form of communication, described as barks, according to Josh Pultorak, who studied them during his Ph. D. work in zoology. —

Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 11 Feb. 2022 Applicants are required to have a bachelor of science degree in biological sciences, police science or law enforcement, natural resources conservation, ecology, or similar fields like criminal justice, geography, physics, psychology, zoology, or others. —

Caitlin O'kane, CBS News, 21 Mar. 2023 Kate Golembiewski is a freelance science writer based in Chicago who geeks out about zoology, thermodynamics and death. —

Kate Golembiewski, CNN, 23 Jan. 2023 After a period teaching biology, chemistry, science, zoology, and fisheries management at public schools and universities, in 1978 Dombeck joined the U.S. Forest Service as a fisheries biologist, spending 12 years with the agency, primarily in the Midwest and West. —

Paul A. Smith, Journal Sentinel, 11 Dec. 2022 Famous attractions abound across the area, ranging from the National Museum Cardiff—a stately institution with a massive array of botany, zoology, and fine arts exhibits—to the Cardiff Castle, a medieval structure whose walls date back to the 11th century. —

Jared Ranahan, Forbes, 30 Apr. 2022 See More

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

borrowed from New Latin zoologia "study of animals" (in early use often in reference to animals as the source of medicines), from zoo- zoo- + -logia -logy

First Known Use

1663, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of zoology was in 1663

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