plural zoos
1
: a facility with usually indoor and outdoor settings where living, typically wild animals are kept especially for public exhibition
called also zoological garden, zoological park
2
: a place, situation, or group marked by crowding, confusion, or unrestrained behavior
The convention was a zoo.
variants
or before a vowel zo-
1
: animal : animal kingdom or kind
zooid
zoology
2
: motile
zoospore
Examples of zoo in a Sentence
Noun
The sixth grade classroom was a zoo after recess.
The supermarket was a real zoo on the night before the storm.
Recent Examples on the Web
Keyaira Boone, Essence, 18 Sep. 2025
Although a few were sent to German, British and Dutch zoos, most attempts to establish quagga breeding programs were largely unsuccessful.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Gino helped open Animal Kingdom in 1998, when Disney World unveiled the groundbreaking theme park that the company stressed, at the time, was not a zoo, but rather a theme park inspired by and dedicated to the conservation of wildlife.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Sep. 2025
In the nearly four-minute video, a zoo spokesperson explains that, until the inhaler, the facility has been treating Mahiri's nasal discomfort symptomatically with steroids.
—Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for zoo
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
Sutton’s videos help prepare toddlers for life’s little firsts, from visiting the zoo to starting preschool.
—Keyaira Boone, Essence, 18 Sep. 2025
Although a few were sent to German, British and Dutch zoos, most attempts to establish quagga breeding programs were largely unsuccessful.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Gino helped open Animal Kingdom in 1998, when Disney World unveiled the groundbreaking theme park that the company stressed, at the time, was not a zoo, but rather a theme park inspired by and dedicated to the conservation of wildlife.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Sep. 2025
In the nearly four-minute video, a zoo spokesperson explains that, until the inhaler, the facility has been treating Mahiri's nasal discomfort symptomatically with steroids.
—Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for zoo
Cite this Entry
“Zoo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zoo. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
zoo
noun
plural zoos
: a garden or park where living usually wild animals are kept for showing to the public
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