zeal ['zēl] -n
- eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit of something : fervor
- her zeal to succeed strained her relationships
zeal·ot ['ze-lət] -n
- a member of a fanatical sect arising in Judea during the first century a.d.and militantly opposing the Roman domination of Palestine
- a zealous person
- a fanatical partisan
zeal·ot·ry ['ze-lə-trē] -n
- excess of zeal : fanatical devotion
zeal·ous ['ze-ləs] -adj, adv, n
- filled with or characterized by zeal : marked by fervent partisanship for a person, a cause, or an ideal
ze·a·tin ['zē-ə-tən] -n
- a cytokinin C 10H 13N 5O first isolated from the endosperm of Indian corn
ze·a·xan·thin [,zē-ə-'zan-thən] -n
- an isomer of lutein occurring esp. in fruits and vegetables (as spinach and corn)
ze·bra ['zē-brə, Canad & Brit also 'ze-] -n, adj or n
- any of several fleet African mammals ( Equus burchelli, E. grevyi,and E. zebra) related to the horse but distinctively and conspicuously patterned in stripes of black or dark brown and white or buff
- referee
- zebra crossing
ze·bra crossing ['ze-brə-, 'zē-] -n
- a crosswalk marked by a series of broad white stripes to indicate a crossing point at which pedestrians have the right of way
zebra finch -n
- a small Australian waxbill ( Taeniopygia guttatasyn. Poephila guttata) that is chiefly gray above and white below with a red or orange bill, a black-and-white barred tail, and in the male a black-barred throat and that is often kept as a cage bird
zebra fish -n
- any of various barred fishes
- a very small blue-and-silver-striped Indian danio ( Danio reriosyn. Brachydanio rerio) often kept in the tropical aquarium
zebra mussel -n
- a chiefly freshwater Eurasian lamellibranch mollusk ( Dreissena polymorpha) that was accidentally introduced into the Great Lakes and has spread to other waterways where it colonizes and clogs water intake pipes and competes with native fish for food
ze·brano [zə-'bra-nō] -n
- zebrawood
ze·bra·wood ['zē-brə-,wu̇d, 'ze-] -n
- : any of several trees or shrubs having mottled or striped wood: as
- a tall So. American timber tree ( Astronium fraxinifolium) of the cashew family
- a tall western African timber tree ( Microberlinia brazzavillensis) of the legume family
- the wood of a zebrawood
ze·bu ['zē-(,)bü, -(,)byü] -n
- any of various breeds of domestic oxen developed in India that are often considered conspecific with the common ox ( Bos taurus) or sometimes as a separate species ( B. indicus) and are characterized by a large fleshy hump over the shoulders, a dewlap, pendulous ears, and marked resistance to the injurious effects of heat and insect attack
Zeb·u·lun ['ze-byə-lən] -n
- a son of Jacob and the traditional eponymous ancestor of one of the tribes of Israel
zec·chi·no [ze-'kē-(,)nō, tse-] -n
- sequin
Zech -abbr
- Zechariah
Zech·a·ri·ah [,ze-kə-'rī-ə] -n
- a Hebrew prophet of the sixth century b.c.
- a prophetic book of canonical Jewish and Christian Scripture
ze·chin ['ze-kən, ze-'kēn] -n
- sequin
zed ['zed] -n
- the letter z
zee ['zē] -n
- the letter z
Zee·man effect ['zā-,män-, -mən-] -n
- the splitting of a single spectral line into two or more lines of different frequencies observed when radiation (as light) originates in a magnetic field
ze·in ['zē-ən] -n
- a protein from Indian corn that lacks lysine and tryptophan and is used esp. in making textile fibers, plastics, printing inks, coatings, and adhesives and sizes
zeit·ge·ber ['tsīt-,gā-bər, 'zīt-] -n
- an environmental agent or event (as the occurrence of light or dark) that provides the stimulus setting or resetting a biological clock of an organism
zeit·geist ['tsīt-,gīst, 'zīt-] -n
- the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era
zel·ko·va ['zel-kə-və, zel-'kō-və] -n
- a tall widely spreading Japanese tree ( Zelkova serrata) of the elm family that is often used as an ornamental and shade tree in place of the American elm because of its resistance to Dutch elm disease
zemst·vo ['zem(p)st-(,)vō, -və] -n
- one of the district and provincial assemblies established in Russia in 1864
Zen ['zen] -n
- a Japanese sect of Mahayana Buddhism that aims at enlightenment by direct intuition through meditation
ze·na·na [zə-'nä-nə] -n
- harem
ZendAves·ta [,zend-ə-'ves-tə] -n
- avesta
ze·ner diode ['zē-nər-, 'ze-] -n
- a silicon semiconductor device used esp. as a voltage regulator
ze·nith ['zē-nəth, Canad also & Brit usu 'ze-nəth, -nith] -n
- the point of the celestial sphere that is directly opposite the nadir and vertically above the observer
- the highest point reached in the heavens by a celestial body
- culminating point : acme
- at the zenith of his powers -- John Buchan
ze·nith·al [-nə-thəl] -adj
- of, relating to, or located at or near the zenith
- showing correct directions from the center
ze·o·lite ['zē-ə-,līt] -n, adj
- any of various hydrous silicates that are analogous in composition to the feldspars, occur as secondary minerals in cavities of lavas, and can act as ion-exchangers
- any of various natural or synthesized silicates of similar structure used esp. in water softening and as adsorbents and catalysts
Zeph -abbr
- Zephaniah
Zeph·a·ni·ah [,ze-fə-'nī-ə] -n
- a Hebrew prophet of the seventh century b.c.
- an apocalyptic book of canonical Jewish and Christian Scripture
zeph·yr ['ze-fər] -n
- a breeze from the west
- a gentle breeze
- any of various lightweight fabrics and articles of clothing
Zeph·y·rus ['ze-fə-rəs] -n
- the Greek god of the west wind
zep·pe·lin ['ze-p(ə-)lən] -n
- a rigid airship consisting of a cylindrical trussed and covered frame supported by internal gas cells
- airship
zep·to- -comb form
- one sextillionth (10 21) part of
zep·to·sec·ond ['zep-tə-,se-kənd, -kənt] -n
- one sextillionth of a second
zerk ['zərk] -n
- a grease fitting
ze·ro ['zē-(,)rō, 'zir-(,)ō] -n
- the arithmetical symbol 0 or denoting the absence of all magnitude or quantity
- additive identity
- the number between the set of all negative numbers and the set of all positive numbers
- a value of an independent variable that makes a function equal to zero
- 2 and 2 are zero s of f(x)x 2 4
- the point of departure in reckoning
- the point from which the graduation of a scale (as of a thermometer) begins
- the temperature represented by the zero mark on a thermometer
- the setting or adjustment of the sights of a firearm that causes it to shoot to point of aim at a desired range
- an insignificant person or thing : nonentity
- a state of total absence or neutrality
- the lowest point : nadir
- something arbitrarily or conveniently designated zero
zero -adj
- of, relating to, or being a zero
- having no magnitude or quantity : not any
- having no phonetic manifestation
- the zero modification in the past tense of cut
- having no modified inflectional form
- limiting vision to 50 feet (15 meters) or less
- limited to 165 feet (50.3 meters) or less
- to determine or adjust the zero of (as a rifle)
- to concentrate firepower on the exact range of usu. used with in
- to bring to bear on the exact range of a target usu. used with in
- to adjust fire on a specific target usu. used with in
- to close in on or focus attention on an objective usu. used with in
- investigators are zero ing in on a suspect
zerobased -adj
- having each item justified on the basis of cost or need
zero coupon -adj
- of, relating to, or being an investment security that is sold at a deep discount, is redeemable at face value on maturity, and that pays no periodic interest
- zero coupon municipal bonds
zero gravity -n
- the state or condition of lacking apparent gravitational pull : weightlessness
zero hour -n
- the hour at which a planned military operation is scheduled to start
- the time at which a usu. significant or notable event is scheduled to take place
- a time when a vital decision or decisive change must be made
zerosum -adj
- of, relating to, or being a situation (as a game or relationship) in which a gain for one side entails a corresponding loss for the other side
- dividing up the budget is a zerosum game
ze·roth ['zē-(,)rōth, 'zir-(,)ōth] -adj
- being numbered zero in a series
- zero
- the zeroth power of a number
zero tillage -n
- no-tillage
zero vector -n
- a vector which is of zero length and all of whose components are zero
zerozero -adj
- characterized by or being atmospheric conditions that reduce ceiling and visibility to zero
- limited to zero by atmospheric conditions
zest ['zest] -n, adj, adv
- a piece of the peel of a citrus fruit (as an orange or lemon) used as flavoring
- an enjoyably exciting quality : piquancy
- adds zest to the performance
- keen enjoyment : relish, gusto
zest·er ['zes-tər] -n
- a small utensil for peeling zest (as of a lemon)
zesty ['zes-tē] -adj, adv
- having or characterized by zest : appealingly piquant or lively
ze·ta ['zā-tə, 'zē-] -n
- the 6th letter of the Greek alphabet
zet·ta- -comb form
- sextillion (10 21)
zet·ta·byte ['ze-tə-,bīt] -n
- one sextillion bytes
zeug·ma ['züg-mə] -n
- the use of a word to modify or govern two or more words usu. in such a manner that it applies to each in a different sense or makes sense with only one (as in opened the door and her heart to the homeless boy)
Zeus ['züs] -n
- the king of the gods and husband of Hera in Greek mythology