zoo
/zʉw/ noun
Forms zoos
- noun (countable) A park where live animals are exhibited. “The London Zoo was built in 1828.”
- noun (countable, informal, figuratively) Any place that is wild, crowded, or chaotic. “The shopping center was a zoo the week before Christmas.”
- noun (countable, informal, figuratively) A large and varied collection of something.
- noun (countable, US, military, slang) The jungle.
- noun (by extension, uncountable) Pornographic material depicting actual animals or bestiality.
Synonyms
Etymology
Clipping of zoological garden or zoological park, now the usual form. See zoology.
* Sense 5 is a clipping of zoophile or zoophilia.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “zoo”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details