Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

zeal|ous /ze ləs/ ADJ Someone who is zealous spends a lot of time or energy in supporting something that they believe in very strongly, especially a political or religious ideal. □  She was a zealous worker for charitable bodies.

zeb|ra /ze brə, ziː -/ (zebras or zebra ) N‑COUNT A zebra is an African wild horse which has black and white stripes.

ze b|ra cro ss|ing (zebra crossings ) N‑COUNT In Britain, a zebra crossing is a place on the road that is marked with black and white stripes, where vehicles are supposed to stop so that people can walk across.

zeit|geist /za I tga I st/ N‑SING The zeitgeist of a particular place during a particular period in history is the attitudes and ideas that are generally common there at that time, especially the attitudes and ideas shown in literature, philosophy, and politics. □ [+ of ] He has caught the zeitgeist of rural life in the 1980s very well indeed.

Zen /ze n/ N‑UNCOUNT Zen or Zen Buddhism is a form of the Buddhist religion that concentrates on meditation rather than on studying religious writings.

zen|ith /ze n I θ, [AM ] ziː -/ N‑SING [usu with poss] The zenith of something is the time when it is most successful or powerful. □  His career is now at its zenith.

zero ◆◆◆ /z I ə roʊ/ (zeros or zeroes , zeroing , zeroed )

1 NUM Zero is the number 0. □  Visibility at the city's airport came down to zero, bringing air traffic to a standstill. □  …a scale ranging from zero to seven.

2 N‑UNCOUNT Zero is a temperature of 0°. It is freezing point on the Centigrade and Celsius scales, and 32° below freezing point on the Fahrenheit scale. □  It's a sunny late winter day, just a few degrees above zero. □  That night the mercury fell to thirty degrees below zero.

3 ADJ You can use zero to say that there is none at all of the thing mentioned. □  This new ministry was being created with zero assets and zero liabilities.

▸  zero in on

1 PHRASAL VERB To zero in on a target means to aim at it or move towards it. □ [V P P n] He raised the binoculars again and zeroed in on an eleventh-floor room.

2 PHRASAL VERB If you zero in on a problem or subject, you give it your full attention. □ [V P P n] Many of the other major daily newspapers have not really zeroed in on the problem. SYNONYMS zero NOUN 1

nought:Sales rose by nought point four per cent last month.

nothing:Homes in this corner of Mantua that once went for $350,000 are now worth nothing.

nil:They beat Argentina one-nil in the final.

ze ro-emi ssion ADJ [ADJ n] A zero-emission vehicle does not produce any dangerous gases. □  …zero-emission electric cars.

ze ro-ho urs con|tract also ze ro-ho ur con|tract (zero-hours contracts ) N‑COUNT A zero-hours contract is a contract where the employer does not have to provide regular work for the employee, but the employee has to be on call in case they are needed to work. [BUSINESS ]

ze ro-su m game N‑SING If you refer to a situation as a zero-sum game , you mean that if one person gains an advantage from it, someone else involved must suffer an equivalent disadvantage. □  They're playing a zero-sum game, where both must compete for the same resources.

ze ro to l|er|ance N‑UNCOUNT If a government or organization has a policy of zero tolerance of a particular type of behaviour or activity, they will not tolerate it at all. □ [+ for ] They have a policy of zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

zest /ze st/ (zests )

1 N‑UNCOUNT [oft a N ] Zest is a feeling of pleasure and enthusiasm. □ [+ for ] He has a zest for life and a quick intellect.