## Z,Z
Z, Z /zed|||zi:/ pl. Z's, z's n 1 [C;U] the 26th and last letter of the English alphabet 2 catch/get some Z's AmE infml to go to sleep: I'm going to catch some Z's.
zab·a·glio·ne /,zəbəl'jəuni|,za:-/ n [U] an Italian sweet dish made from a mixture of egg, sugar, and wine
Zaïre /zaɪˈrər ˈzaːr/ the former name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a country in central Africa — Zaïrean n, adj
Zam·be·zi, the /zaem'bi:zi/ also the Zambesi a large river in south central Africa which separates Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Victoria Falls and the Kariba Dam are both on the Zambezi.
Zam·bi·a /'zæmbie/ a country in south central Africa, between Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Population: 10,307,333 (2003). Capital: Lusaka. Zambia is rich in minerals, especially copper. Its former name, when it was ruled by Britain, was Northern Rhodesia. It became independent in 1964, and is a member of the British Commonwealth. —Zambian n, adj
za-ny /'zeini/ adj foolish in an amusing or ABSURD way: Michael made us all laugh with his zany tricks.
Zan·zi·bar /'zænzibər/ an island off the coast of East Africa which joined with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the new country of Tanzania
zap¹ /zæp/ n [U] infml apprec liveliness; ENERGY ︷py adj: a zappy poster/English teacher/lesson
zap² v infml 1 [T] to attack or destroy, especially in a computer game or VIDEO 2 [I+adv/prep;T+obj+adv/prep] to (cause to) move quickly or forcefully: She zapped (the car) from a standstill to 70 miles per hour in 10 seconds. | (fig.) I'll have to zap through the work to make the deadline. 3 [T] AmE to cook in a MICROWAVE oven: Zap that for about two minutes on high, will you? 4 [T] to operate a television REMOTE CONTROL → see also ZAPPER
Za·pa·ta, E·mi·li·a·no /zə'pɑːtə, e,mixli'ɑːnəʊ/ (1879–1919)
a Mexican REVOLUTIONARY, who led an army of native
Mexicans against the government in an attempt to get back
land that had been taken away from them. He was partly
successful but was later murdered. The Zapata moustache (=a
type of MOUSTACHE that curves down at the sides) is named
after him.
Zap·pa, Frank /'zæpə/ (1940-93) a US musician and singer who wrote many different types of music, including CLASSICAL music, but is best known for his ROCK music, which was always new and different, and which criticized American society and music of the 1960s and 1970s. He was part of the group The Mothers of Invention, and was known for having long black hair and a large MOUSTACHE.
zap-per /'zæpər/ n infmi REMOTE CONTROL
Zar•a•thus•tra /,zzerə'θu:strə/ → see ZOROASTER
zeal /ziːl/ n [U] fml eagerness; keenness: religious/revolutionary zeal
zeal·ot /'zelət/ n, usually derog someone who is too eager in their beliefs and tries to make other people share them: religious zealots
zeal·ous /'zeləs/ adj fml, usually apprec eager; keen: zealous missionaries | She is always zealous in performing her duties.
——ly adv ——ness n [U]
ze·bra /'zi:brə, 'ze-l''zi:brə/ n pl. -bra or -bras an African animal that looks like a horse with broad black or dark brown and white lines all over its body
,zebra 'crossing n (in Britain) a place on a busy street, painted with black and white lines to show that PEDESTRIANS (=people walking in the street) have the right to cross before vehicles → compare PELICAN CROSSING and see picture at ZEBRA
zed /zed/ BrE || zee /zi:/ AmE — n (the name of) the letter Z
Zedong → see MAO ZEDONG
zebra
Zee·brug·ge /zeɪˈbrugə, ziː-/ a sea port in northern Belgium, where ferries (FERRY) arrive from Britain. It is known especially for the Zeebrugge disaster of 1987, when a ferry sank soon after leaving the port, and almost 200 people were killed.
Zef·fi·rel·li, Franco /, zef'reli/ (1923-) an Italian DIRECTOR of plays, films, and OPERAs. His films include Romeo and Iuliet, and Tea with Mussolini.
Zeiss, Carl /zais, ka:ll|ka:rl/ (1816–88) a German businessman who started a company that makes LENSes (=pieces of curved glass that makes things look bigger or smaller) and equipment such as cameras and MICROSCOPEs, which are known for their good quality
zeit·geist /ˈzaɪtgaɪst/ [the] Ger (often cap.) the general spirit of a period in history, as shown in people's ideas and beliefs
Zell·we·ger, Re·née /'zelweigər, re'nei/ (1969-) a US actress whose films include Bridget Jones's Diary, Chicago, and Cold Mountain
Zemin → see JIANG ZEMIN
Zen /zen/ also, Zen 'Buddhism n [U] a Japanese form of Buddhism stating that one must look inside oneself for understanding rather than depend on holy writings, and aiming for ENLIGHTENMENT through MEDITATION (=practice of emptying the mind of thought or fixing the attention on one matter)
zen·ith /'zenɪθˈziː-/ n 1 [the+S] the point in the sky directly above a person looking from Earth 2 [C usually sing.] the highest or greatest point of development, hope, fortune etc: Opera reached its zenith at the turn of the century.
zeph·yr /'zefər/ n poet a soft gentle west wind
zep·pe·lin /'zepəlin/ n a large AIRSHIP used by the Germans in World War I
Zer-matt /'zɜːmætˈzɛrˈmæt/ a place in the Swiss ALPS where people go skiing (SKI)
ze·ro¹ /'zɪərəʊ||'ziːrəʊ/ n pl. -ros or -roes 1 (the name of) the sign 0 and the number it stands for 2 the point between + and - on a scale; on the CELSIUS scale, the temperature at which water freezes: It was five degrees below zero last night. | sub-zero temperatures → see also ABSOLUTE ZERO 3 (often written 0) nothing; no size or quantity: Our population has reached zero growth. (=it is not growing any more) | zero value
In saying a number, zero is generally used for 0 in science. O pronounced 'Oh', is generally used after a decimal point, as in 1.04, and in telephone numbers. A British speaker might use nought especially before and after a decimal point, as in 0.06; and might use nil especially in sports results: The teams drew nil-nil. An American speaker would usually use zero or 0 in either of these situations, or, in sports results nothing or none: Their team won, five to nothing.
zero² v
zero in on sthg. phr v [T] 1 to aim gunfire or similar weapons directly at 2 to aim one's attention directly towards
,zero 'coupon bond n AmE a BOND sold at a DISCOUNT which does not pay interest but which can be exchanged for its full value after a stated time. Zero coupon bonds have tax advantages in some situations.
'zero hour n [U] the hour at which an action or especially military operation is planned to begin: Zero hour is fixed for midnight.
,zero-'sum,game n AmE a situation in which a balance is achieved between something (such as money) received and