zoo

1 of 2

noun

ˈzü 

plural zoos

1

: a facility with usually indoor and outdoor settings where living, typically wild animals are kept especially for public exhibition

called also zoological garden, zoological park

2

: a place, situation, or group marked by crowding, confusion, or unrestrained behavior

The convention was a zoo.

zoo-

2 of 2

combining form

variants or before a vowel zo-

1

: animal : animal kingdom or kind

zooid

zoology

2

: motile

zoospore

Synonyms

Noun

• ado
• alarums and excursions
• ballyhoo
• blather
• bluster
• bobbery
• bother
• bustle
• clatter
• clutter [chiefly dialect]
• coil
• commotion
• corroboree [Australian]
• disturbance
• do [chiefly dialect]
• foofaraw
• fun
• furor
• furore
• fuss
• helter-skelter
• hoo-ha
• hoo-hah
• hoopla
• hubble-bubble
• hubbub
• hullabaloo
• hurly
• hurly-burly
• hurricane
• hurry
• hurry-scurry
• hurry-skurry
• kerfuffle [chiefly British]
• moil
• pandemonium
• pother
• row
• ruckus
• ruction
• rumpus
• shindy
• splore [Scottish]
• squall
• stew
• stir
• storm
• to-do
• tumult
• turmoil
• uproar
• welter
• whirl
• williwaw

Examples of zoo in a Sentence

Noun

The sixth grade classroom was a zoo after recess.

The supermarket was a real zoo on the night before the storm.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The country’s giant panda loan program with overseas zoos has long been seen as a tool of Beijing’s soft-power diplomacy. —Ryan Hogg, Fortune Asia, 3 Dec. 2024

Now as an adult, trips to the zoo feel nostalgic and like a new experience at the same time. —The Indianapolis Star, 27 Nov. 2024

That’s why the zoo is already pursuing its next viral hit. —Stephanie Yang, Los Angeles Times, 25 Nov. 2024

Patrick dressed up in a custom zoo keeper uniform with his name printed on it, along with a bucket hat and matching boots. —Charlotte Phillipp, People.com, 23 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

short for zoological garden

Combining form

borrowed from Greek zōo-, zōio-, combining form from zôion "animal," derivative from the base of zṓō, zṓein (Homeric), zô, zên (Attic) "to be alive, live," going back to Indo-European *g^wi̯éh₃-(u)- "live" (whence also Tocharian B śāyau "[I] live"), full grade of a stem attested elsewhere with zero grade as *g^wih₃-u-, whence Latin vīvō, vīvere "to live," Old Church Slavic živǫ, žiti, Old Prussian giwa "(s/he) lives," Latvian dzīvu "(I) live," Sanskrit jīvati "(s/he) lives," Avestan juuaiti

Note: See also bio-, quick entry 1.

First Known Use

Noun

1835, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing zoo

• petting zoo

Kids Definition

zoo

noun

ˈzü 

plural zoos

: a garden or park where living usually wild animals are kept for showing to the public