Z (also z) /zed; NAmE zi:/
noun {pi. Zs, Z’s, z’s /zedz; A//\mf zi:z/) 1 [C, U] the 26 th and last letter of the English
alphabet 26 : ‘Zebra7
begins with
(a) Z/‘Z\ * zebra - z
A 2 Z’s [pi.] (AMmE,
informal, humorous) sleep 0§1s£; SIR: / need, to catch some Z’s. ffcflSUBi — ITT71 see A n.
Z
angles noun = alternate angles zany /'zeini/ ad/. (zani-er,
zani-est) (informal) strange or unusual in an
amusing way £ % ft; if If nj ^ ft H771 wacky : zany humour jjfg ft ® JR zap /zaep/ verb (-pp-) {informal) 1 [VN] ~ sb/sth (with sth) to destroy, kill or hit
sb/sth suddenly and with force ( MmMmm ) mw, &Ji, The monster got
zapped by a flying saucer (= in a computer game).
j^H M'WAATo 0 It’s vital to zap
stress fast,
0 He jumped like a man
who’d been zapped with 1 000 volts. im%M 1 000
2
[V +adv./prep.) to do sth very fast #1
I’m zapping through {= reading very fast) some modem novels at
the moment.
3
[V, VN] to use the remote
control to change television channels quickly ( M f§ ) j£ II ^ M ® if
4
[+adv./prep.] to move, or make
sb/sth move, very fast in the direction mentioned ( jfr ^ A |«I )
Pin zip: [V] The racing cars zapped past us. M
[also vn]
zapper /'zaepa(r)/
noun
{informal) 1 = remote control (2) 2 a device or weapon that attacks or
destroys sth quickly A : a bug zapper A A ZAR abbr. the written abbreviation
for the South African
( South African rand, BPUMEftFft ) :
All prices listed are in ZAR. #r ## IP II ^ M # i?!j
zeal /zi:l/
noun [U, C] ~ (for/in sth) {formal) great energy or
enthusiasm connected with sth that you feel strongly about jk ; ^ ff :
her
missionary/reforming/re- ligious/political zeal jflfeft#iSc±l£ft / &¥ / Affc / Ht&f
zealot /'zelat/
noun (often disapproving) a person who is
extremely enthusiastic about sth, especially religion or politics ( ) SE&AA, BDG3
FANATIC
zeal ot ry /'zelatri/ noun [U] (often disapproving) the attitude or
behaviour of a zealot A A A (ft <3: (
% ) : religious zealotry
zeal ous /'zelas/ adj. {formal) showing great energy
and enthusiasm for sth, especially because you feel strongly about it jk ]# ft ; ; % if & 1f $1 : a zealous
reformer ftr!fc$# ► zealously adv.
zebra /'zebra;
'zi:br0/ noun {pi. zebra or zebras) an African wild animal
like a horse with black and white lines (= stripes) on its body Jtis,
.zebra
'crossing noun {BrE) an area of road marked
with broad black and white lines where vehicles must stop for people to walk
across ATrUiil — see
also PEDESTRIAN CROSSING,
PELICAN CROSSING zebu /'zi:bu:/ noun {pi. zebus or zebu) an animal of the cow
family with long horns and a hump
(= high part) on its back, kept on farms especially in hot climates fi A:
Zeit geist /'zaitgaist/ noun [sing.] (from German, formal) the general mood or
quality of a particular period of history, as shown by the ideas, beliefs, etc.
common at the time ; WftJS&il EBd spirit of the times
Zen
/zen/
noun [U] a Japanese form of
Buddhism 0 A
zen ith /'zem0/ noun 1 the
highest point that the sun or moon reaches in the sky, directly above you AM (
A m&n i^A^ AftllcAit ) 2 {formal) the time when
sth is strongest and most
successful |fj # I0* $]; M PCT71 PEAK PHD NADIR
zephyr /'zefa(r)/
noun
{old-fashioned or literary) a soft gentle wind
fflM; tfcM,
Zep
pelin /'zepalin/
noun a German type of large airship (MiiHfftAsnM)
zero 0-w /’ziarau; NAmE 'Zirou; 'zi:-/ number, verb m number 1 {pi. zeros) {BrE also nought) 0 #: Five, four, three,
two, one, zero ...We have lift-off. H, 03, £
'1,
—; # ■ • • Cf ft $7 o 2 a temperature,
pressure,
etc. that is equal to zero
on a scale ( )
^ A : It was ten degrees below zero last night
{=
-io°C). 10#ASo
0 The
thermometer had fallen to zero. MJSif $0 3 the lowest possible amount
or level; nothing at all® A*; ®{IL£; Sffls'fe'®; I rated my
chances as zero. IcfRA'&'frfllz^o 0 zero inflation
■
verb (zer oes, zero ing,
zer oed, zer-oed) [VN] to turn an instrument, control, etc. to zero # (
iX. ^ M ^ fi ^ IJil;Vi .zero 'in on sb/sth 1 to fix all your
attention on the person or thing
mentioned ®
M fj A: They zeroed in on the
key issues.
falSc 2 to aim guns, etc. at
the person or thing mentioned (
.zero
'gravity noun [u] {abbr.
.zero 'G) a state in which there
is no gravity, or where gravity
has no effect, for example in space (
'zero hour noun [U] the time when an
important event, an attack, etc. is planned to start
fcl'i HM
.zero-'rated
adj.
{BrE, technical Ait) (of goods, services, etc. ^
.zero-'sum
game noun a situation in which
what is gained by one person or group is lost by another person or group —
m (
.zero
'tolerance noun [U] the policy of applying laws very
strictly so that people are punished even for offences that are not very
serious
zest /zest/
noun 1 [sing., U] ~ (for sth) enjoyment and
enthusiasm ^ [f; PIT?! appetite He had a great
zest for life. 0 2 [U, sing.] the
quality of being exciting,
interesting and enjoyable A $r; M$);
the outer skin of an
orange, a lemon, etc., when it is used to give flavour in cooking
W A p , If A iW ) — compare peel
n.(l),
rind(1), skin n.(4)>zest-ful /-fl/ adj. zesty /’zesti/ adj. zest-er /'zest0(r)/ noun a kitchen tool for
removing the zest from oranges, lemons, etc. H&iS'JZI
zeta /'ziita/
noun the 6th letter of the
Greek alphabet
(z, g 6 .
zeug ma /'zjuigma; NAmE 'zu:g-/ noun [C, U] {technical A if[) the use of a
word which must be understood in two different ways at the same time in order
to make sense, for example ‘The bread was baking, and so was I.’
mi ( )
zig-gurat /'zigaraet/
noun in ancient
)
zig-zag /'zigzaeg/
noun,
verb
m noun a line or pattern that
looks like a series of letter W’s as it bends to the left and then to the right
again ( Ml&W
) ; The path descended the
hill in a series of
zigzags. Lb&
!SiMT0 —picture c> line ►
zig-zag
adj. [only before nou n]: a zigzag
line/path/pattern ft A /
mverb (-gg-) [V, usually + adv./prep.] to move forward by
making sharp sudden turns first to the left and then to the right ft^Mift: The narrow path
zigzags up the cliff.