z

¹

abbreviation for

1. zone.

Z

²

or z

[ zeeor, especially British, zed; Archaic iz-erd ]

noun

, plural Z's or Zs, z's or zs.

1. the 26th letter of the English alphabet, a consonant.
2. any spoken sound represented by the letter Z or z, as in zero, zigzag, or buzzer.
3. something having the shape of a Z .
4. a written or printed representation of the letter Z or z.
5. a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter Z or z.

z

³

Symbol, Mathematics.

1. an unknown quantity or variable.
2. (in Cartesian coordinates) the z- axis.

Z

⁴

abbreviation for

1. Astronomy. zenith distance ( def ).
2. zone.

Z

⁵

Symbol.

1. the 26th in order or in a series.
2. (sometimes lowercase) the medieval Roman numeral for 2000. Compare Roman numerals.
3. Chemistry, Physics. atomic number ( def ).
4. Electricity. impedance ( def 1 ).

z.

⁶

abbreviation for

1. zero.

Z

¹

symbol for

1. any unknown, variable, or unspecified factor, number, person, or thing
2. chem atomic number
3. physics impedance
4. zone
5. currency zaïre

abbreviation for

1. Zambia (international car registration)

z

²

/ ziː; zɛd /

noun

1. the 26th and last letter and the 20th consonant of the modern English alphabet
2. a speech sound represented by this letter, in English usually a voiced alveolar fricative, as in zip
3. 1. something shaped like a Z
   2. ( in combination )

      a Z-bend in a road

z

³

symbol for

1. the z- axis or a coordinate measured along the z- axis in a Cartesian or cylindrical coordinate system
2. an algebraic variable

Idioms and Phrases

see from soup to nuts (a to z) .

Example Sentences

One cause of the confusion is Marcos’ last name, which is Cruise, spelled with an “s” instead of Cruz, spelled with a “z.”

From Los Angeles Times

"The dumbbell thus acts a bit like the needle on a compass, allowing us to read off the z coordinate according to its orientation," says Prof. Dr. Dieter Meschede.

From Science Daily

If z = 4, 16, 37, 58, 89, 145, 42 or 20, then ijk is a sad number.

From Scientific American

And this problem is severe, given that many of our agricultural food products — from x to y to z — rely on pollinators like bees.

From Salon

Horses have specialized anatomical features that enable them to stay on their hooves while catching some z's.

From Scientific American