zoo

¹

[ zoo ]

noun

, plural zoos.

1. Also called zoological garden. a parklike area in which live animals are kept in cages or large enclosures for public exhibition.
2. Informal. a place, activity, or group marked by chaos or unrestrained behavior.

zoo-

²

1. a combining form meaning “living being,” “animal,” used in the formation of compound words:

   zoometry; zooplankton.

zoo

¹

/ zuː /

noun

1. a place where live animals are kept, studied, bred, and exhibited to the public Formal termzoological garden

zoo-

²

combining_form

1. indicating animals

   zooplankton

Word History and Origins

Origin of zoo¹

First recorded in 1840–50; first two syllables of zoological garden taken as one syllable

Origin of zoo²

Combining form representing Greek zôion animal

Word History and Origins

Origin of zoo¹

C19: shortened from zoological gardens (originally applied to those in London)

Origin of zoo²

from Greek zōion animal

Idioms and Phrases

see it's a zoo .

Example Sentences

Triplet panda cubs born this past July were reunited with their mother, Juxiao, in a Chinese zoo this week.

From The Daily Beast

She worked with wildlife as a volunteer in Peru and the Galapagos; she worked with elephants in Thailand, at a zoo in Australia.

From The Daily Beast

They asked the director of the Buffalo Zoo for some wallaby hair.

From The Daily Beast

The zoo is blessed with multiple wallabies and was happy to oblige.

From The Daily Beast

I can appreciate the perspective that my experience is akin to visiting a human zoo.

From The Daily Beast

I remember him saying once—it was at the Zoo—what a pity it was he hadn't enough to divide among the whole Cabinet.

From Project Gutenberg

Human resemblances at the Zoo are quite enough to call up this purely functional giggling.

From Project Gutenberg

Did you ever see the great python that died lately at the Zoo climb his ragged staff of a tree?

From Project Gutenberg

There are any number of different kinds of monkeys, as you can see any day in the monkey house at the Zoo.

From Project Gutenberg

We caught the papa in a trap after he had killed a number of grouse, and not being badly hurt, I sent him to Bartlett at the Zoo.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• circus

Words That Use zoo-

What does zoo- mean?

The combining form zoo– is used like a prefix meaning “living being” or “animal.” It is often used in scientific terms, especially in biology.

The form zoo– comes from Greek zôion, meaning “animal.”

What are variants of zoo-?

When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, zoo– becomes zo–, as in zooid.

When combined as a suffix, zoo– becomes –zoa or –zoon, as in protozoa or ectozoon. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles for zo-, -zoa, and -zoon.

Examples of zoo-

An example of a word you may have encountered that features zoo– is zoology, “the science or branch of biology dealing with animals.”

We know zoo– means “animal,” and the –logy portion of the word refers to “science,” from Greek logía. Zoology literally translates to “animal science.”

The word zoo is ultimately shortened from zoological garden; zoological is the adjective form of zoology.

What are some words that use the combining form zoo-?

• zoobiotic
• zoochlorella
• zoometry
• zoonosis
• zoophagous
• zoophile
• zoospore

What are some other forms that zoo– may be commonly confused with?

• oo-
• zygo-

Not every word that begins with the exact letters zoo– or zo-, such as zoom or zooty, is necessarily using either combining form to denote “animal.” Learn why zooty means “flamboyant” at our entry for the word.

Break it down!

The combining form –metry means “the process of measuring.” With this in mind, what is zoometry?