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. □
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. □ [+
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. □
zero ◆◆◆ /z I ə roʊ/ (zeros or zeroes , zeroing , zeroed )
1
NUM
Zero
is the number 0. □
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. □
3
ADJ
You can use
zero
to say that there is none at all of the thing mentioned. □
▸ 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]
2
PHRASAL VERB
If you
zero in on
a problem or subject, you give it your full attention. □ [V
P
P
n]
nought:
nothing:
nil:
ze
ro-emi
ssion
ADJ
[ADJ
n] A
zero-emission
vehicle does not produce any dangerous gases. □
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. □
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. □ [+
zest /ze st/ (zests )
1
N‑UNCOUNT
[oft