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 of zoom

Verb (1)

• hum
• zip
• buzz

Noun

• hum
• purr
• whisper
• buzz
• drone
• rustle

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

Silver, which has been zooming higher in its own feverish run, had a similar and sudden reversal of momentum before ticking higher again. —Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 29 Jan. 2026

Extrapolating from the way Jaime rides a shopping cart (like a 10-year-old, zooming through the frozen food section with both feet off the ground), these grocery aisles are like memory lane. —Peter Debruge, Variety, 27 Jan. 2026

Noun

Alas, the artistic conduit that Pari creates for her fears is a two-way street, and the film’s most unnerving scene, shot in a menacing slow zoom, observes in horror as a friendly post-show conversation sours into the stuff of a direct threat. —David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 28 Jan. 2026

Washington, of course, is racing in the other direction, as the national debt zooms toward $39 trillion. —William Pesek, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026

Verb

The lens features an internal zoom mechanism, meaning the physical length does not change when zooming. —Harry Bennett, Space.com, 27 Aug. 2025

The update also brings full PTZ camera control with pan, tilt and zoom for compatible NDI cameras. —Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 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