zip line, v.

zip-line
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zip-line_v%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 2021

# zip lineverb

## Factsheet

### What does the verb zip line mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the verb zip line. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

This word is used in U.S. English.

### How common is the verb zip line?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1990 | 0.0023
2000 | 0.0023
2010 | 0.0023

### How is the verb zip line pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈzɪp lʌɪn/
ZIP lighn

#### U.S. English

/ˈzɪp ˌlaɪn/
ZIP lighn

### Where does the verb zip line come from?

Earliest known use

1990s

The earliest known use of the verb zip line is in the 1990s.

OED's earliest evidence for zip line is from 1998, in the writing of Tom Clancy, novelist.

zip line is formed within English, by conversion.

Etymons: zip line n.

### Nearby entries

1. Zipf, n. 1936–
2. zip fastener, n. 1925–
3. zip fastening, n. & adj. 1925–
4. zip gun, n. 1914–
5. Ziph, n. 1834–
6. ziphian, n. & adj. 1896
7. ziphiiform, adj. 1891
8. ziphioid, adj. & n. 1861–
9. zipless, adj. 1922–
10. zip line, n. 1970–
11. zip line, v.1998–
12. zipliner, n. 1993–
13. zip lining, n.?1983–
14. zip-lipped, adj. 1943–
15. ziplock, n. 1928–
16. zipped, adj. 1931–
17. zippeite, n. 1850–
18. zipper, n. 1923–
19. zipper, v. 1927–
20. zippered, adj. 1926–
21. zipper foot, n. 1938–

## Etymology

### Summary

Formed within English, by conversion.
Etymon: zip line n.
< zip line n.

Compare earlier zip lining n., zipliner n.

## Meaning & use

Chiefly U.S.

1. 1998–
   intransitive. To slide down a zip line (zip line n.), esp. as a recreational activity.
   1. 1998

      > Harry's aggravated his ankle some this morning... He banged it up two weeks ago zip-lining down from the helo.

      T. Clancy, Rainbow Six vi. 115
   2. 2005

      > We were suited up with harnesses and helmets, and from that platform we zip-lined across a 70-foot crevasse.

      Philadelphia Inquirer (Nexis) 25 December (Travel section) 5
   3. 2018

      > Adventure seekers can zip-line through mist-soaked jungle canopies.

      Condé Nast Traveller April 129/2
   U.S. English

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈzɪp lʌɪn/
ZIP lighn

### U.S. English

/ˈzɪp ˌlaɪn/
ZIP lighn

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

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.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye*
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

* /d/ also represents a 'tapped' /t/ as in

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.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

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

## Frequency

zip line typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

zip line is in frequency band 2, which contains words occurring between 0.001 and 0.01 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 zip line, v., 1990–2010

* 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.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the Google Books corpus.

Decade | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
1990 | 0.0023
2000 | 0.0023
2010 | 0.0023

zip line, v. was first published in March 2021.

zip line, v. was last modified in July 2023.