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.
variants
or before a vowel zo-
1
: animal : animal kingdom or kind
zooid
zoology
2
: motile
zoospore
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
Jeremy Drouin, Kansas City Star, 14 Apr. 2025
The bored petting zoo attendant who hands over a white rabbit to Ramsey certainly doesn’t clock them from their front-row appearances at Dior.
—Zing Tsjeng, Vogue, 11 Apr. 2025
For one thing, they’re printed in English and Spanish, a first for the zoo.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 6 Apr. 2025
The first of the four siblings hatched on Feb. 27, the zoo said.
—Kate Linderman, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for zoo
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Noun
Part of his business was selling exotic animals to zoos, including two rare manatees purchased by the New York Aquarium in 1904.
—Jeremy Drouin, Kansas City Star, 14 Apr. 2025
The bored petting zoo attendant who hands over a white rabbit to Ramsey certainly doesn’t clock them from their front-row appearances at Dior.
—Zing Tsjeng, Vogue, 11 Apr. 2025
For one thing, they’re printed in English and Spanish, a first for the zoo.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 6 Apr. 2025
The first of the four siblings hatched on Feb. 27, the zoo said.
—Kate Linderman, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for zoo
Cite this Entry
“Zoo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zoo. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
zoo
noun
plural zoos
: a garden or park where living usually wild animals are kept for showing to the public
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