English words starting with Z

z-axis

1. noun: the third axis in a 3-dimensional coordinate system

zaar

1. noun: a Chadic language spoken in northern Nigeria

zabaglione

1. noun: light foamy custard-like dessert served hot or chilled

zabrze

1. noun: an industrial city in southern Poland

zacharias

1. noun: a Hebrew minor prophet of the late 6th century BC
2. noun: an Old Testament book telling the prophecies of Zechariah which are concerned mainly with the renewal of Israel after the Babylonian Captivity

zachary taylor

1. noun: 12th President of the United States; died in office (1784-1850)

zaftig

1. adjective: (of a female body) healthily plump and vigorous; "a generation ago...buxom actresses were popular"- Robt.A.Hamilton

zag

1. noun: an angular shape characterized by sharp turns in alternating directions

zaglossus

1. noun: a genus of Tachyglossidae

zagreb

1. noun: the capital of Croatia

zaharias

1. noun: outstanding United States athlete (1914-1956)

zaire

1. noun: the basic unit of money in Zaire
2. noun: a republic in central Africa; achieved independence from Belgium in 1960

zaire river

1. noun: a major African river (one of the world's longest); flows through Congo into the South Atlantic

zairean

1. noun: a native or inhabitant of Zaire
2. adjective: of or relating to or characteristic of Zaire or its people; "Zairean elections"

zairese

1. noun: a native or inhabitant of Zaire
2. adjective: of or relating to or characteristic of Zaire or its people; "Zairean elections"

zairese monetary unit

1. noun: monetary unit in Zaire

zakat

1. noun: the fourth pillar of Islam is almsgiving as an act of worship; "the zakat is earmarked for the poor and disabled"

zalcitabine

1. noun: an antiviral drug used to combat HIV infection

zalophus

1. noun: sea lions

zalophus californianus

1. noun: often trained as a show animal

zalophus californicus

1. noun: often trained as a show animal

zalophus lobatus

1. noun: a variety of sea lion found in Australia

zama

1. noun: the battle in 202 BC in which Scipio decisively defeated Hannibal at the end of the second Punic War

zaman

1. noun: large ornamental tropical American tree with bipinnate leaves and globose clusters of flowers with crimson stamens and seed pods that are eaten by cattle

zamang

1. noun: large ornamental tropical American tree with bipinnate leaves and globose clusters of flowers with crimson stamens and seed pods that are eaten by cattle

zambezi

1. noun: an African river; flows into the Indian Ocean

zambezi river

1. noun: an African river; flows into the Indian Ocean

zambia

1. noun: a republic in central Africa; formerly controlled by Great Britain and called Northern Rhodesia until it gained independence within the commonwealth in 1964

zambian

1. noun: a native or inhabitant of Zambia
2. adjective: of or relating to or characteristic of Zambia or its people

zambian kwacha

1. noun: the basic unit of money in Zambia

zambian monetary unit

1. noun: monetary unit in Zambia

zamboni

1. noun: the trademark for a machine that smooths the ice in an ice-skating rink

zamboorak

1. noun: a camel cavalry used in the early modern era by Arab, Afghan, Persian, and Indian armies

zamburak

1. noun: a camel cavalry used in the early modern era by Arab, Afghan, Persian, and Indian armies

zamburek

1. noun: a camel cavalry used in the early modern era by Arab, Afghan, Persian, and Indian armies

zamia

1. noun: any of various cycads of the genus Zamia; among the smallest and most verdant cycads

zamia family

1. noun: a family of cycads often included in the family Cycadaceae: zamias

zamia pumila

1. noun: small tough woody zamia of Florida and West Indies and Cuba; roots and half-buried stems yield an arrowroot

zamiaceae

1. noun: a family of cycads often included in the family Cycadaceae: zamias

zane grey

1. noun: United States writer of western adventure novels (1875-1939)

zangwill

1. noun: English writer (1864-1926)

zanier

Spelling-list entry. A WordNet 3.1 definition is not available for this form.

zanies

Spelling-list entry. A WordNet 3.1 definition is not available for this form.

zaniest

Spelling-list entry. A WordNet 3.1 definition is not available for this form.

zaniness

Spelling-list entry. A WordNet 3.1 definition is not available for this form.

zannichellia

1. noun: horned pondweed: completely submerged herbs; in some classifications included in Potamogetonaceae

zannichellia palustris

1. noun: found in still or slow-moving fresh or brackish water; useful to oxygenate cool water ponds and aquaria

zannichelliaceae

1. noun: alternative classification for some genera included in Potamogetonaceae; one species

zantac

1. noun: a histamine blocker and antacid (trade name Zantac) used to treat peptic ulcers and gastritis and esophageal reflux

zantedeschia

1. noun: calla lily

zantedeschia aethiopica

1. noun: South African plant widely cultivated for its showy pure white spathe and yellow spadix

zantedeschia rehmanii

1. noun: calla having a rose-colored spathe

zanthoxylum

1. noun: deciduous or evergreen trees or shrubs: prickly ash

zanthoxylum americanum

1. noun: small deciduous aromatic shrub (or tree) having spiny branches and yellowish flowers; eastern North America

zanthoxylum clava-herculis

1. noun: densely spiny ornamental of southeastern United States and West Indies

zanthoxylum flavum

1. noun: West Indian tree with smooth lustrous and slightly oily wood

zanthoxylum fraxineum

1. noun: small deciduous aromatic shrub (or tree) having spiny branches and yellowish flowers; eastern North America

zanuck

1. noun: United States filmmaker whose works include the first full-length feature film with sound sequences (1902-1979)

zany

1. noun: a buffoon in one of the old comedies; imitates others for ludicrous effect
2. noun: a man who is a stupid incompetent fool

zanzibar

1. noun: an island in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa; part of the United Republic of Tanzania

zanzibar copal

1. noun: a hard copal derived from an African tree

zap

1. noun: a sudden event that imparts energy or excitement, usually with a dramatic impact; "they gave it another zap of radiation"
2. verb: strike suddenly and with force; "This show zaps the viewers with some shocking scenes"

zapata

1. noun: Mexican revolutionary who led a revolt for agrarian reforms (1879-1919)

zapodidae

1. noun: jumping mice

zapotec

1. noun: a member of a large tribe of Mesoamericans living in southern Mexico whose civilization flourished around 300 to 900
2. noun: the language of the Zapotec

zapotecan

1. noun: a member of a large tribe of Mesoamericans living in southern Mexico whose civilization flourished around 300 to 900
2. noun: the language of the Zapotec

zapped

Spelling-list entry. A WordNet 3.1 definition is not available for this form.

zapper

1. noun: an electrical device that can injure or kill by means of electric currents; "a bug zapper"

zappers

Spelling-list entry. A WordNet 3.1 definition is not available for this form.

zapping

Spelling-list entry. A WordNet 3.1 definition is not available for this form.

zappy

Spelling-list entry. A WordNet 3.1 definition is not available for this form.

zaps

Spelling-list entry. A WordNet 3.1 definition is not available for this form.

zapus

1. noun: type genus of the Zapodidae

zapus hudsonius

1. noun: widely distributed in northeastern and central United States and Canada

zaragoza

1. noun: an ancient city on the Ebro River in northeastern Spain; formerly the capital of Aragon

zarathustra

1. noun: Persian prophet who founded Zoroastrianism (circa 628-551 BC)

zarf

1. noun: an ornamental metal cup-shaped holder for a hot coffee cup

zaria

1. noun: a city in north central Nigeria; agricultural trading center

zarontin

1. noun: an anticonvulsant drug (trade names Emeside and Zarontin) used to treat petit mal epilepsy

zarpanit

1. noun: consort of Marduk

zarqa

1. noun: city in northwestern Jordan

zauschneria californica

1. noun: shrublet of southwestern United States to Mexico having brilliant scarlet flowers

zayin

1. noun: the 7th letter of the Hebrew alphabet

zb

1. noun: a unit of information equal to 1000 exabits or 10^21 bits
2. noun: a unit of information equal to 1000 exabytes or 10^21 bytes

zbit

1. noun: a unit of information equal to 1000 exabits or 10^21 bits

zdv

1. noun: an antiviral drug (trade name Retrovir) used in the treatment of AIDS; adverse side effects include liver damage and suppression of the bone marrow

zea

1. noun: corn

zea mays

1. noun: tall annual cereal grass bearing kernels on large ears: widely cultivated in America in many varieties; the principal cereal in Mexico and Central and South America since pre-Columbian times

zea mays amylacea

1. noun: corn having kernels almost entirely of soft starch

zea mays everta

1. noun: corn having small ears and kernels that burst when exposed to dry heat

zea mays indentata

1. noun: corn whose kernels contain both hard and soft starch and become indented at maturity

zea mays indurata

1. noun: corn having kernels with a hard outer layer enclosing the soft endosperm

zea mays rugosa

1. noun: a corn plant developed in order to have young ears that are sweet and suitable for eating

zea saccharata

1. noun: a corn plant developed in order to have young ears that are sweet and suitable for eating

zeal

1. noun: a feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of a person or cause); "they were imbued with a revolutionary ardor"; "he felt a kind of religious zeal"
2. noun: excessive fervor to do something or accomplish some end; "he had an absolute zeal for litigation"

zealand

1. noun: the largest island of Denmark and the site of Copenhagen

zealander

1. noun: a native or inhabitant of Zealand

zealot

1. noun: a member of an ancient Jewish sect in Judea in the first century who fought to the death against the Romans and who killed or persecuted Jews who collaborated with the Romans
2. noun: a fervent and even militant proponent of something

zealotry

1. noun: excessive intolerance of opposing views

zealots

Spelling-list entry. A WordNet 3.1 definition is not available for this form.

zealous

1. adjective: marked by active interest and enthusiasm; "an avid sports fan"

zealously

1. adverb: in a zealous manner; "she worked zealously to raise funds for the literacy project"

zealousness

Spelling-list entry. A WordNet 3.1 definition is not available for this form.

zeaxanthin

1. noun: yellow carotenoid (isomeric with lutein and occurs widely with it) that is the main pigment in yellow Indian corn

zebibit

1. noun: a unit of information equal to 1024 exbibits or 2^70 bits

zebibyte

1. noun: a unit of information equal to 1024 exbibytes or 2^70 bytes

zebra

1. noun: any of several fleet black-and-white striped African equines

zebra crossing

1. noun: street crossing where pedestrians have right of way; often marked in some way (especially with diagonal stripes)

zebra finch

1. noun: small Australian weaverbird with markings like a zebra's

zebra mussel

1. noun: inch long mollusk imported accidentally from Europe; clogs utility inlet pipes and feeds on edible freshwater mussels

zebra orchid

1. noun: orchid with reddish linear leaves and panicle of purple-marked pale-yellow flowers with deep red or purple lip; southwestern Australia

zebra-tailed lizard

1. noun: swift lizard with long black-banded tail and long legs; of deserts of United States and Mexico

zebras

Spelling-list entry. A WordNet 3.1 definition is not available for this form.

zebrawood

1. noun: handsomely striped or mottled wood of the zebrawood tree; used especially for cabinetwork
2. noun: any of various trees or shrubs having mottled or striped wood

zebrawood family

1. noun: mostly tropical climbing shrubs or small trees; closely related to Leguminosae

zebrawood tree

1. noun: any of various trees or shrubs having mottled or striped wood

zebu

1. noun: domesticated ox having a humped back and long horns and a large dewlap; used chiefly as a draft animal in India and east Asia

zebus

Spelling-list entry. A WordNet 3.1 definition is not available for this form.

zechariah

1. noun: a Hebrew minor prophet of the late 6th century BC
2. noun: an Old Testament book telling the prophecies of Zechariah which are concerned mainly with the renewal of Israel after the Babylonian Captivity

zed

1. noun: the 26th letter of the Roman alphabet; "the British call Z zed and the Scots call it ezed but Americans call it zee"; "he doesn't know A from izzard"