Each of the five ‘belts’ or encircling regions, distinguished by differences of climate, into which the surface of the earth (and, in ancient cosmography, the celestial sphere) is divided by the tropics (of Cancer and Capricorn) and the polar (arctic and antarctic) circles; viz. the torrid (†burning, †burnt, †hot) zone between the tropics, the (north and south) temperate zones extending from the tropics to the polar circles, and the frigid (†frozen, †cold) zones (arctic and antarctic) within the polar circles.
The arctic and antarctic zones are strictly not ‘belts’ but circular ‘caps’ with the poles in the centre.
a1500
For thre zones [Laud MS. thre wonynges] shal he fynde Where no man may lyue in one kynde One is hote and colde are two.
Hist. K. Boccus & Sydracke (?1510) sig. U iv
1555
The could zone or clime, was condemned to perpetuall snowe.
R. Eden, Of North Regions in translation of Peter Martyr of Angleria, Decades of Newe Worlde f. 267v
1556
The olde Cosmographers..called all that space betweene the twoo Tropykes, the Burnynge Zone... And of eche syde of it, they noted twoo Zones,..whiche they called the Frosen zones,..and betweene those Frosen zones, & the Burning zone, they appointed two Temperat zones.
R. Recorde, Castle of Knowledge 64
1594
The hotte Zone is that which lyeth betwixt the two Tropiques.
T. Blundeville, Exercisesiv. f. 206
1604
Till our ground Sindging his pate against the burning Zone Make Ossa like a wart.
W. Shakespeare, Hamletv. i. 279
1621
The parts next the torrid zone are the hotter, & the parts next the frigid zones are the colder.
P. Heylyn, Microcosmus 4
1693
The Sun with Rays, directly darting down, Fires all beneath, and fries the middle Zone.
J. Dryden, translation of Ovid, Metamorphosesi, in Examen Poeticum 4
1774
The feathered inhabitants of the temperate zone are but little remarkable for the beauty of their plumage.
O. Goldsmith, History of Earthvol. V. 38
1869
Africa belongs almost entirely to the torrid zone.
Any region extending around the earth and comprised between definite limits, e.g. between two parallels of latitude. Also Astronomy applied to a similar region in the heavens or on the surface of a planet or the sun.
1559
Do you not in this Figure call euery portion betwixt two paralleles: a zone?.. Yes verely.
W. Cuningham, Cosmographical Glasse 64
1578
Those fiue quarters and zones, which the Astronomers doe describe in heauen, and vppon the earth.
T. Twyne, translation of L. Daneau, Wonderfull Woorkmanship of World 61
A definite region or area of the earth, or of any place or space, distinguished from adjacent regions by some special quality or condition (indicated by a defining word or phrase); also figurative.
This occurrence of the more ancient deposits, within a zone of chalk hills.
G. Mantell, Fossils of South Downs 298
1835
Greece lies in a volcanic zone, which extends from the Caspian..to the Azores.
C. Thirlwall, History of Greecevol. I. i. 29
1837
The zone of easterly diurnal variations.
D. Brewster, Treatise on Magnetism 222
1849
The wide-scattered city, with its zone of the glacis, is the foreground of the view.
A. A. Paton, Highlands & Islands of Adriaticvol. II. xix. 253
1852
Every theatre of war is supposed to be divided into three Zones... These are called Zones of Operation, and are distinguished as the Right, Left, and Central.
E. Yates, Elem. Strategy 9
1873
That all extensions should be performed before entering within the fire zone.
Daily News 2 August 3/5
1876
The zone of defence signifies a belt of ground in front of the general contour of the works within effective range of the artillery on the ramparts... Zone of fire, a term synonymous with range or trajectory.
G. E. Voyle & G. de Saint-Clair-Stevenson, Military Dictionary (ed. 3) (at cited word)
1881
In a shaft-furnace, the different portions (horizontal sections) are called zones, and characterized according to the reactions which take place in them, as the zone of fusion.
Transactions of American Institute of Mining Engineers 1880–1vol. 9 192 s.v.
1883
Zone, in coal-mining phraseology, this word signifies a certain series of coal seams, with their accompanying shales, &c.
W. S. Gresley, Glossary of Terms Coal Mining
1902
Beyond the rain zone dead scrub and lifeless trees alone meet the eye.
Town Planning. A district or an area of land subject to particular restrictions concerning use and development.
1909
The usual method in formulating town building plans on a large scale is to divide the urban area into building zones.
H. I. Triggs, Town Planning iv. 177
1910
Certain portions of the area would be reserved for the erection of better class residences... This would be similar to the ‘zone’ system which has been adopted in certain towns on the Continent.
F. Howkins, Housing Acts 1890–1909, & Town Planning ix. 125
1939
A single map will show the subdivision of the area into zones, which in a typical case might be defined as follows: One family zones. Two family zones. [etc.].
H. M. Lewis, City Planning xvi. 166
1953
The ‘smokeless zone’ provision of some local Acts..apply to domestic as well as industrial smoke.
Interim Rep. Comm. Air Pollution 27 in Parliamentary Papers (Cmd. 9011) vol. VIII. 655
1964
Certain areas can be kept for light industry, others for heavy industry, dwellings, offices..and so on, each area being called a zone.
American Football and Basketball. A specific area of the court to be defended by a particular player; also, a mode of defensive play employing this system (cf. zone defencen.).
1927
In the zone defense the players playing back of the line of scrimmage..are so stationed that they can knock down or intercept any pass that comes into their territory or zone.
G. S. Warner, Football for Coaches & Players 191
1942
Certain coaches believe only the ‘zone’ can be called a team defense.
C. Bee, Zone Def. & Attack i. 1
1964
You cannot win consistently..utilizing the zone.
F. Anderson & S. Albeck, Coaching Better Basketball ix. 209
1971
Each player is given a specific portion of the floor as ‘his territory’, and he guards, in turn, any offensive player who enters his ‘zone’.
L. Koppett, New York Times Guide to Spectator Sports iii. 83
1979
The defense must be a man-to-man with no presses or zones allowed.
Any one of those areas of Germany and Austria occupied by British, American, French, or Russian forces after the war of 1939–45 until 1955. Subsequently occasionally applied to East German territory; also transferred.
1945
The conference of Mr. Churchill, President Roosevelt, and Marshal Stalin, held at Yalta, in the Crimea, has drawn up military plans for the final defeat of Germany... The forces of the three Powers will each occupy a separate zone of Germany, and a central control commission will have headquarters in Berlin. France will be invited to take a zone of occupation.
Times 13 February 4/1
1947
German machinery..will be delivered to Hungary in the next three months under a trade agreement signed between Hungary and the Soviet zone of Germany.
Daily Telegraph 25 September 5/8
1954
Frenchmen..had been spending their leaves..among the combat-troop rest-billets not only throughout the entire French Army zone, but the American and the British ones too.
W. Faulkner, Fable 128
1956
Some political leaders expressed the view that German interests would be furthered by direct negotiations with the Soviet Union, and that it would ease conditions for the people of the Soviet Zone if there was limited collaboration with the East German authorities.
Annual Register 1955iii. v. 223
1963
The GDR... The Zone if you prefer.
‘J. le Carré’, Spy who came in from Cold xiii. 127
1964
Not too near the Sektor boundary and within a mile of the Soviet Zone... Sometimes we prefer to put our cargo on ice in the zone... Anywhere from Lübeck to Leipzig.
L. Deighton, Funeral in Berlin vii. 50
1976
This movement aimed at the restoration of German unity... It was founded on the basis of proposals put forward by the communist leadership in the Soviet Zone.
How many Zones you observed in that Golden and Silken Heaven of the King's, I know not; but I know you got one Zone (a Purse) well tempered with a Hundred Golden Stars by your Astronomy.
J. Washington, translation of J. Milton, Defence of People of England ix. 212
1818
The zone of the ex trooper, to use Horace's phrase, was weighty enough to purchase a cottage.
W. Scott, Heart of Mid-Lothian vii, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Series vol. I. 186
Something that encircles like a girdle; a circumscribing or enclosing line, band, or ring.
1605
Round about him he so closely cleaues With's wrything bodie; that his Enemie..Hasts to some Tree, or to some Rocke, whearon To rush and rub-off his detested zone.
J. Sylvester, translation of G. de S. Du Bartas, Deuine Weekes & Workesi. vi. 193
1620
With twelue braue gates the curious eye to fill, The sacred luster as the glistring Zoane, And euery gate fram'd of a seuerall stone.
T. Peyton, Glasse of Timei. 50
1785
The moon..set With modest grandeur in thy [sc. Evening's] purple zone.
W. Cowper, Taskiv. 257
1840
Below the entablature is a band or zone, formed of large stones and bricks placed alternately.
Civil Engineer & Architect's Journalvol. 3 144/1
1856
Tentacles disposed in a zone around the mouth.
W. Clark, translation of J. van der Hoeven, Handbook of Zoologyvol. I. 93
1860
A tendency to form circular zones round the sun.
J. Tyndall, Glaciers of Alpsi. xxii. 154
1895
His [sc. the sea's] world-wide elemental moan Girdeth our lives with tragic zone.
A band or stripe of colour, or of light or shade, extending around something, or (loosely) over any surface or area; often, any one of a number of concentric or alternate markings of this kind.
1752
The outer surface of the whole shell [of the Buccinum]..is of a pale brownish colour, elegantly variegated with a great number of yellow zones.
J. Hill, General Natural Historyvol. III. 131
1805
Long-tailed green Parrot, with..the collar on the nape and abdominal zone yellow.
G. Shaw, Vivarium Naturæ, or Naturalist’ s Misc.vol. XVI. pl. 657
1815
When Jupiter is viewed through a good telescope, we perceive a number of zones or belts, of a darker colour than the rest of his disc.
J. Smith, Panorama of Science & Artvol. I. 556
1816
All such white marbles as are marked with green-coloured zones, caused by talc or chlorite.
R. Jameson, System of Mineralogy (ed. 2) vol. II. 146
1833
If we press upon the eye-ball with a key or the end of a pencil-case, zones of light are excited.
Anatomy, Zoology, and Botany. A growth or structure surrounding or encircling some part in the form of a ring or cylinder; also, a region or area extending around or over some part and distinguished by some special character or condition.
With various defining words applied spec. to particular structures or regions. ciliaryadj.zone, motorn. & adj.zone: see these words. zone of Zinn: see zonulen.
1811
These tubercles are..surrounded by a zone or disk, of a brownish red colour, the areola.
C. Bell, Anatomy of Human Body (ed. 3) vol. III. 468
1849
Ciliary processes.—These processes..are received into corresponding folds or plaitings of the hyaloid membrane, called the secondary ciliary processes, and which taken altogether form a circle around the crystalline lens named after their discoverer the Zone of Zinn.
A. H. Hassall, Microscopic Anatomy of Human Bodyvol. I. 514
1882
The cornea..is..intermediate in thickness between that of the white zone and the rest of the sclerotic.
B. G. Wilder & S. H. Gage, Anatomical Technology Domestic Cat §1421
1884
The periblem, which is a zone of tissue lying between the plerome and dermatogen.
F. O. Bower & D. H. Scott, translation of H. A. de Bary, Comparative Anatomy Phanerogams & Ferns 7
1913
Abdominal z[one]s, the three zones into which the surface of the abdomen is divided by the subcostal and intertubercular lines... Pellucid z., the zona pellucida.
W. A. N. Dorland, Medical Dictionary (at cited word)
Geology and Physical Geography. A region, or each of a series of regions, comprised between definite limits of any kind, e.g. of depth or height, and distinguished by special characters, esp. by characteristic fossils or forms of animal and plant life.
1829
In the north [of France], it [sc. limestone] forms a portion of the great transition zone, which stretches from Flanders into the Hartz.
A. Ure, New System of Geology 150
1839
The presence of this zone of clay..is marked by the outburst of water.
R. I. Murchison, Silurian Systemi. ii. 17
1851
This cretaceous zone of the shore of the Cantabrian sea.
American Journal of Sciencevol. 61 263
1882
A bed, or limited number of beds, characterized by one or more distinctive fossils, is termed a zone or horizon.
Mathematics. A part of the surface of a sphere contained between two parallel planes, or of the surface of any solid of revolution contained between two planes perpendicular to the axis.
1795
The curve-surface of any segment or zone of a Sphere, is also equal to the curve surface of a cylinder of the same height with that portion, and of the same diameter with the Sphere.
C. Hutton, Mathematical & Philosophical Dictionaryvol. II. 477/2
1867
These circles..are..all in parallel planes..and cut the spherical surface into zones.
W. Thomson & P. G. Tait, Treatise on Natural Philosophyvol. I. §781. 621
Crystallography. A series of faces of a crystal extending around it and having their lines of intersection parallel.
1868
The planes [of a crystalline form] may thus be viewed as lying in vertical zones, a different zone for every ratio of the lateral axes.
J. D. Dana, System of Mineralogy (ed. 5) Introduction p. xxvi
1878
These four vertical faces constitute what is called a zone (or girdle) of the form.
H. P. Gurney, Crystallography 21
1895
The ‘law of zones’,..viz. all planes which can occur on a crystal are related to each other in zones; or, in other words, from any four planes, no three of which lie in one zone, all possible crystal planes can be derived by means of zones.
C. S. Palmer, translation of W. Nernst, Theoretical Chemistry 67
A hole in certain punched cards that is punched above the column of holes representing non-zero digits and is used in conjunction with these latter holes to represent non-numerical characters. Usually attributive.
1950
For alphabetical representations, two perforations in a single column are used for each letter; one of these is a zone punch (0, 11, or 12) while the other perforation is made in the position identifying one of the digits 1 to 9.
W. W. Stifler, High-speed Computing Devices (Engin. Research Associates) 149
1959
Alphabetic information is recorded by using two punches in the same column: the upper punch (sometimes called the ‘zone’) is always a 12, 11, or 0.
M. H. Wrubel, Primer of Programming for Digital Computers ii. 33
1970
A letter in the English alphabet is coded with one zone punch (12, 11, or 0) together with one under~punch.
O. Dopping, Computers & Data Processing ii. 44
1972
The correspondence between the Hollerith zones and the 1401 zones.
W. R. Price, Introd. Data Processing vii. 179
1979
Later, when the need for alphabetic data arose, the zone positions, rows 12 and 11, were added.
colloquial (originally U.S.Sport). A state of perfect concentration leading to optimum mental or physical performance. Chiefly with the, esp. in in the zone.
1976
Tennis players speak reverently of the mystical atmospheric condition known as ‘The Zone’. Passing shots chip away at the lines, first serves pop in and mistakes simply don't materialize. Arthur Ashe's experience in The Zone during his last Wimbledon championship bordered on the surreal.
San Francisco Chronicle 27 October 47/1
1990
Performers, surgeons, or creative artists..find that most important parts of their lives occur when they are ‘in the zone’.
New Age Journal April 119/1
1995
Kitt is in a zone, one of those feel-I-can't-lose mind-sets that can propel an athlete to a series of successes.
Denver Post 5 March b10/1
1997
I feel ideas for the ceremony are pouring out of me and this is the best writing I've done in a long time. After all these years as a writer, I can tell when I'm in the zone, and this is the zone.
K. Loggins & J. Loggins, Unimaginable Life vii. 253
Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.
Vowels
iːfleece
ihappy
ɪkit
ɛdress
atrap, bath
ɑːstart, palm, bath
ɒlot
ɔːthought, force
ʌstrut
ʊfoot
uːgoose
əletter
əːnurse
ɪənear
ɛːsquare
ʊəcure
eɪface
ʌɪpride
aʊmouth
əʊgoat
ɔɪvoice
ãgratin
ɒ̃salon
ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)
Other symbols
The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.
Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.
Vowels
ifleece, happy
ɪkit
ɛdress
ætrap, bath
ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
ɑrstart
ɔcloth, thought
ɔrnorth, force
ʊfoot
ugoose
əstrut, comma
ərnurse, letter
ɪ(ə)rnear
ɛ(ə)rsquare
ʊ(ə)rcure
eɪface
aɪpride
aʊmouth
oʊgoat
ɔɪvoice
ɑ̃gratin
æ̃salon
ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)
Other symbols
The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.
Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.
Consonants
b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values
gguy
jjay
yyore
chchore
khloch
shshore
ththaw
dhthee
zhbeige
Vowels
atrap
ahpalm
airsquare
arstart
arrcarry (British only)
awthought
ayface
a(ng)gratin
edress
eefleece
eerdeer
errmerry
ikit
ighpride
irrmirror
olot (British only)
ohgoat
oogoose
oorcure
orforce
orrsorry (British only)
owmouth
oyvoice
o(ng)salon
ustrut
uhletter
urnurse
urrhurry
uufoot
Forms
Variant forms
Also 1500s–1600s zoane.
Frequency
zone is one of the 2,000 most common words in modern written English. It is similar in frequency to words like fundamental, loan, reasonable, regional, and smile.
It typically occurs about 50 times per million words in modern written English.
zone is in frequency band 6, which contains words occurring between 10 and 100 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands
Frequency data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.
Frequency of zone, n., 1750–2010
* Occurrences per million words in written English
Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.
The overall frequency for a given word is calculated by summing frequencies for the main form of the word, any plural or inflected forms, and any major spelling variations.
For sets of homographs (distinct entries that share the same word-form, e.g. mole, n.¹, mole, n.², mole, n.³, etc.), we have estimated the frequency of each homograph entry as a fraction of the total Ngrams frequency for the word-form. This may result in inaccuracies.
Decade
Frequency per million words
1750
1.9
1760
2.3
1770
6.9
1780
5.7
1790
4.8
1800
5.4
1810
6.6
1820
7.1
1830
6.1
1840
6.9
1850
9.1
1860
8.4
1870
10
1880
11
1890
14
1900
17
1910
25
1920
26
1930
29
1940
41
1950
45
1960
52
1970
55
1980
56
1990
51
2000
44
2010
44
Frequency of zone, n., 2017–2024
* Occurrences per million words in written English
Modern frequency series are derived from a corpus of 20 billion words, covering the period from 2017 to the present. The corpus is mainly compiled from online news sources, and covers all major varieties of World English.