zigzaghttp://www.oed.com/dictionary/zigzag_v%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_usezigzag, v.
First published 1921; not fully revised

zigzagverb

    1. 1.a.
      1787–
      intransitive. To go or move in a zigzag course; to have a zigzag course or direction. Also quasi-transitive, to zigzag it, to zigzag one's way.
      1. 1787
        His horse..zigzagged across before my old spavin'd hunter.
        R. Burns, Letter 7 July (2001) vol. I. 128
      2. 1792
        We..zigzagged up to the very top.
        T. Twining in Recr. & Studies (1882) 163
      3. 1807
        The surprising range of rocks, zigzagging away in all directions.
        J. Beresford, Miseries of Human Life vol. II. xviii. 167
      4. 1812
        He had zig-zagg'd many a league!
        G. Colman, Poetical Vagaries 104
      5. 1861
        He managed to..zigzag down Kennington reach..with much labour.
        T. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford vol. I. ii. 24
      6. 1897
        He..zigzagged his way back to the ship.
        W. W. Jacobs, Skipper's Wooing iii
      figurative
      1. [1787
        While I was chalking you out the straight way to Wealth and Character, with audacious effrontery you have zigzagged across the path.
        R. Burns, Letter 7 February (2001) vol. I. 91]
      2. 1825
        Not following the natural course of thought and feeling,..but zig-zagging after the rhyme.
        R. Southey, Letter in Correspondence of Robert Southey with Caroline Bowles (1881) 78
      3. 1825
        The red and black had zig-zagged, or won alternately for fourteen times.
        H. Smith, Gaieties & Gravities vol. II. 245
      4. 1901
        His courage zigzagged,..one moment he towered in imagination, the next he grovelled in fear.
        ‘G. Douglas’, House with Green Shutters xxiii
    2. 1.b.
      1950–
      Of a sewing machine: to make zigzag stitches.
      1. 1950
        The Necchis [sc. sewing-machines] which zigzagged were inferior to the..Necchis which didn't.
        Consumer Reports May 212/1
      2. 1956
        Whether you want to embroider..zig-zag or sew a straight seam, you'll find the ‘84’ unsurpassed.
        Sears, Roebuck Catalogue Fall–Winter 1068/1
      3. 1976
        It's a pocket-size sewing machine which you hold in one hand—that sews, bastes, hems, zig-zags, sews on buttons and even zippers.
        Woman's Weekly 6 November 68/2 (advertisement)
    1. 2.a.
      1777–
      transitive. To give a zigzag form to; to trace a zigzag line upon. Chiefly in past participle; see also zigzagged adj.
      1. 1777
        White zigzagged with ferruginous; edges crenulated.
        T. Pennant, British Zoology (ed. 4, quarto) vol. IV. vi. 98
      2. 1872
        The breast of the black cloud was now zigzagged..by lightning.
        W. D. Howells, Their Wedding Journey iii
      3. 1884
        Its lateral margin..toothed and zigzagged by the outgrowth of conically elongated cells.
        F. O. Bower & D. H. Scott, translation of H. A. de Bary, Comparative Anatomy Phanerogams & Ferns 65
    2. 2.b.
      1930–
      To traverse in a zigzag manner.
      1. 1930
        He literally zigzagged the whole tremendous territory, visiting almost every hamlet.
        F. L. Bird & F. M. Ryan, Recall Public Officers 42
      2. 1978
        The vans..zig-zagged the near-deserted streets.
        J. Wainwright, Ripple of Murders 78
  1. 3.
    1821–
    To cause to move in a zigzag direction; reflexive = 1.
    1. 1821
      I oft zigzag me round Thy uneven, heathy ground.
      J. Clare, Village Minstrel, & Other Poems vol. I. 115
    2. 1889
      To see him zigzag his large body through the mob from the vestry to the pulpit.
      F. E. Gretton, Memory's Harkback 49

zigzag, v. was first published in 1921; not fully revised.

zigzag, v. was last modified in September 2024.