zoology

noun

zo·​ol·​o·​gy zō-ˈä-lə-jē  zə-ˈwä- 

1

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

2

a

: animal life (as of a region) : fauna

b

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

zoologist

zō-ˈä-lə-jist 

zə-ˈwä-

noun

Examples of zoology in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That a mastodon jaw popped up at a residence near the hamlet of Scotchtown doesn’t surprise Ross MacPhee, senior curator in residence of mammalogy and vertebrate zoology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. —Leslie Katz, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024

Other field trip leaders have backgrounds in wildlife photography, conservation, ecology, biology, forestry and zoology. —Patrick Connolly, Orlando Sentinel, 3 Dec. 2024

Jared Cooke, 23, is a zoology student at Texas A&M, studying to be a vertebrate paleontologist. —Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2024

Behavioral Thermal Tolerance Journal of experimental zoology. —Sofia Quaglia, Discover Magazine, 29 Oct. 2024

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

Kids Definition

zoology

noun

zo·​ol·​o·​gy zō-ˈäl-ə-jē  zə-ˈwäl- 

: a branch of biology concerned with the animal kingdom and animal life

Medical Definition

zoology

noun

zo·​ol·​o·​gy zō-ˈäl-ə-jē 

plural zoologies

1

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

2

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