name
Meaning 1
A diminutive of the male given name Zedekiah.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
zed
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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/zɛd/
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Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -ɛd
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CMU ARPABET: Z EH1 D Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
The name of the Latin script letter Z/z.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Commonwealth, Ireland
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
Something Z-shaped.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Commonwealth, Ireland, in-compounds
Examples
- zed-bar
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
Sleep.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Commonwealth, Ireland, colloquial, plural-normally
Examples
- I'm going to go get some zeds.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
A zombie.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Commonwealth, Ireland, slang
Examples
- A horde of zeds began to shuffle into the shopping mall.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 6
Alternative form of Z (“a member of Generation Z”).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of, alternative
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 7
Alternative letter-case form of zed.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 8
To sleep or nap. (Compare zzz, catch some z's.)
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, informal, intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 9
To zigzag; to move with sharp alternating turns.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, intransitive, rare
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 10
the 26th letter of the Roman alphabet
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- the British call Z zed and the Scots call it ezed but Americans call it zee
- he doesn't know A from izzard
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Z, zee, ezed, izzard
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: letter, letter of the alphabet, alphabetic character
History
Etymology
From Middle English zed, zedde, zede, from Old French zede, from Late Latin zeta, from Ancient Greek ζῆτα (zêta), from Hebrew ז (zayin) with influence from βῆτα (bêta), ἦτα (êta) and θῆτα (thêta). The letter had a rare usage in Old English, such as in bezt, where it represented "ts" (compare the German, Italian, and Finnish pronunciation of Z). For the sleep sense, see zzz. The zombie sense comes from the initial letter. Doublet of zeta. Cognate to Spanish zeta, German Zett, French zède, Italian zeta, and perhaps Portuguese zê.