something given away: Diplomatic negotiators often aim at a zero-sum game, where they don't give away any more than they get.
,zero 'tolerance n [U] the idea that no crime is acceptable and that every crime will be punished, even crimes that some people think are not very serious: The city has a policy of zero tolerance toward crimes such as graffitiing, possession of drugs, and begging.
zest /zest/ n 1 [S;U].(a quality of) being pleasantly exciting and interesting; SPICE: The danger of being caught gave/added a certain zest to the affair. 2 [S;U] (a feeling of) being eager: a zest for life 3 [U] BrE || peel AmE — the outer skin of an orange or LEMON used for giving a special taste to food, especially when it is grated (GRATE) and used in making cakes —~ful adj —~fully adv
Zest trademark a yellow soap with a LEMON smell which is used for washing the face and body, sold in the US
Ze·ta Jones, Catherine
/ˌziːtəˈdʒəʊnz/ (1969-) a British actress from Wales. She has appeared in the television series The Darling Buds of May and in several films · iricluding Titanic, Entrapment, and High Fidelity. She married the actor Michael Douglas in 2000. People sometimes make jokes about the fact that her husband is much older than her.
Zeus /zjuːsˈzjuːs/ in Greek MYTHOLOGY, the king of the gods, and ruler of the universe. In Roman mythology his name is JUPITER.
Zhivago, Doctor → see DOCTOR ZHIVAGO
Zhou En·lai /,d3əu ጦen'lar/ (1898-1976) a Chinese politician who was Foreign Minister from 1949 to 1958 and Prime Minister from 1949 to 1976
Zhu Rong-ji /,dzu: rong'dzi:ll-rong-/ a' Chinese politician who became Prime Minister in 1998
zig·zag¹ /'zigzeg/ n a line shaped like a row of z's: α zigzag path → see picture at PATTERN
Zi-dane, Zi-né-dine /zr'dæn\|-'da:n, zine'di:n/ (1972-) a French football player who became the most expensive player in the world when he moved from the Italian team Juventus to the Spanish team Real Madrid in 2001. He was in the French national team that won the World Cup in 1998 and the European Championship in 2000. He is considered to be one of the best players in the world. He has been voted FIFA World Player of the Year three times and European Player of the Year once.
Zieg·feld, Flor·enz /'zɪgfeld, 'ziːg-, 'florəns||'flɔː-/ (1869-1932) a US theatre PRODUCER who arranged a show every year from 1907 to 1931, called the Ziegfeld Follies. These shows contained singing, dancing, and jokes, and were famous for their beautiful dancers.
zigzag² v -gg- [1] to go in a zigzag: The path zigzags up the hill.
zilch /ziltʃ/ adj, n AmE, infml zero; none; nothing: How much money is left? 'Zilch.'
zil·lion /'zɪljən/ also zillions pl. — n [(of)] infml an extremely large number; zillions of mosquitoes
Zim·ba·bwe /zɪmˈbaːbweɪ/ a country in south central Africa, south of Zambia and north of South Africa. Population: 12,576,742 (2003). Capital: Harare. Zimbabwe was formerly called Rhodesia, and its main products include tobacco, cloth, and minerals. It was ruled by the British from 1889. In 1965 its white government announced that it was independent but the British government regarded this as an illegal claim. In 1980 Zimbabwe became officially independent under a new mainly black government, and Robert Mugabe became the Prime Minister. When he was elected president in 1987, Mugabe began a process that made it legal for the government to take control of land that was owned by white people without giving them any money for it. This land was usually given to ‘WAR VETERANS’ who had fought to make Zimbabwe independent. After Mugabe’s reelection in 2002 Zimbabwe was SUSPENDED from the Commonwealth because many countries thought the election was not fair or honest. In 2003, Zimbabwe officially decided to leave the Commonwealth. → see also MUGABE, Robert
Zim·mer frame /'zɪməˈfreɪməl-mər-/ BrE trademark a type of metal frame that people use to help them walk if they are old or ill → compare WALKER
zinc /zɪŋk/ n [U] a bluish-white metal that is a simple substance (ELEMENT) used in the production of other metals, and to PLATE (=cover) metal objects with a protective surface
Zin·fan·del /'zɪnfəndel/ n [C;U] a type of ROSÉ wine made in the US, especially in California
zing /zɪŋ/ n [U] AmE infm/ liveliness; ZIP
zing-er /'zɪŋər/ n AmE infml a clever humorous remark that might also be insulting
Zi-on /ˈzaɪən/ 1 a name given to Israel or to a promised land where the Jewish people could live in peace, after many centuries of not having a land of their own 2 lit HEAVEN 3 in the Old Testament of the Bible, another name for Jerusalem
Zi·on·is·m /'zaɪənɪzəm/ n [U] the political movement to establish and develop an independent state for the Jewish people —ist adj. ri: a group of young Zionists
zip¹ /zip/ n 1 [C] also zip 'fastener especially BrE || zipper especially AmE — a fastener made of two sets of metal or plastic teeth and a sliding piece that joins the edges of an opening in material by drawing the teeth together → see picture at FASTENER 2 [U] infml apprec liveliness; ENERGY 3 [S] infml a zipping (ZIP) sound: We heard the zip of a bullet. 4 [S] AmE infml zero; nothing; none: We beat them 10 to zip. | 'How much money have you got left.' 'Zip.'
zip² v -pp- 1 [T+obj+adj] to put into the stated condition with a zip: He zipped the bag open/shut. 2 [I+adv/prep;T+obj+adv/prep] to (cause to) move very quickly and forcefully: We zipped through customs. | They zipped the order through. | The minutes simply zipped past. 3 [I+adv/prep] to travel with a hissing (HISS) sound: The bullet zipped through the air.
zip sthg./sbdy. ⇔ up phr v [T] to fasten (something or a person into something) with a zip: Will you zip me up/zip up my dress? → opposite UNZIP
'zip code n AmE for POSTCODE
'zip file also 'zipped file n tech a computer FILE that has been made smaller so that it is easier to store and move
Zip-lock bag, ziplock bag /'ziplok bægɪl-lɑːk-/ trademark
a transparent plastic bag that can be used many times because
it has a ZIP at one end. Ziplock bags are used to keep things
such as food clean and dry.
zip·per /'zipər/ n. especially AmE a zip → see picture at FAS-TENER
Zip·per·gate /'zipəgeit|-ər-/ irefml a word used to refer to the political SCANDAL in the US in 1998 involving Monica Lewinski and President Bill Clinton
Zip-po /'zipəʊ/ trademark a cigarette LIGHTER made by the Zippo Manufacturing Company. The flame is protected by the top part of the lighter which opens and closes.
zip·py /'zipi/ adj infmi apprec lively and ENERGETIC
zit /zɪt/ n infml, especially AmE a spot on the skin; PIMPLE: Help. My face is breaking out. Just look at my zits.
zith·er /'zɪðər/ n a flat musical instrument with 30–40 strings played with the fingers or with a PLECTRUM (=small piece of plastic)
zizz /zɪz/ n [S] BrE infml a short sleep: Father's having/taking a zizz after lunch.
zo·di·ac /'zəʊdiək/ n 1 [the S] an imaginary belt through space along which the Sun, the Moon, and the neares PLANETS appear to travel and which is divided into 12 equa parts (SIGNS), each named after a group (CONSTELLATION) of stars which were once in them: Which sign of the zodiac were you born under? 2 [C] a circular representation of this with pictures and names for each of the 12 signs of the zodiac especially as used by people who believe in the influence of the stars on people's character and fate → see also HORO SCOPE —~al /zəʊ'daɪəkəl/ adj
CULTURAL NOTE The signs of the zodiac are used in astrology. The signs are: Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, and Capricorn.