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
Synonyms
Noun
- ado
- alarums and excursions
- ballyhoo
- blather
- bluster
- bobbery
- bother
- bustle
- clatter
- clutter [chiefly dialect]
- coil
- commotion
- corroboree [Australian]
- disturbance
- do [chiefly dialect]
- foofaraw
- fun
- furor
- furore
- fuss
- helter-skelter
- hoo-ha
- hoo-hah
- hoopla
- hubble-bubble
- hubbub
- hullabaloo
- hurly
- hurly-burly
- hurricane
- hurry
- hurry-scurry
- hurry-skurry
- kerfuffle [chiefly British]
- moil
- pandemonium
- pother
- row
- ruckus
- ruction
- rumpus
- shindy
- splore [Scottish]
- squall
- stew
- stir
- storm
- to-do
- tumult
- turmoil
- uproar
- welter
- whirl
- williwaw
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
Amelia Nierenberg, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2025
When: 10am-2pm Saturday Admission: Free with zoo entry 🐍 Chinese New Year: Get pumped for the Year of the Snake at Utah's annual Lunar New Year party, with games, performances and the traditional lion dance.
—Erin Alberty, Axios, 8 Jan. 2025
Refurbishment efforts will be conducted by a team of zoo artists and engineers and will include repairs to the iguana’s frame and a weather-resistant topcoat, according to the statement.
—Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Jan. 2025
Poppy was the name chosen for a newborn pygmy hippo at the Metro Richmond Zoo in Virginia after the zoo held an online contest to determine her name, with zoo officials saying Poppy won with 52.8% of the total votes.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 7 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for zoo 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
In Britain and Germany, castaway trees have been used as toys for zoo animals.
—Amelia Nierenberg, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2025
When: 10am-2pm Saturday Admission: Free with zoo entry 🐍 Chinese New Year: Get pumped for the Year of the Snake at Utah's annual Lunar New Year party, with games, performances and the traditional lion dance.
—Erin Alberty, Axios, 8 Jan. 2025
Refurbishment efforts will be conducted by a team of zoo artists and engineers and will include repairs to the iguana’s frame and a weather-resistant topcoat, according to the statement.
—Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Jan. 2025
Poppy was the name chosen for a newborn pygmy hippo at the Metro Richmond Zoo in Virginia after the zoo held an online contest to determine her name, with zoo officials saying Poppy won with 52.8% of the total votes.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 7 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for zoo
Dictionary Entries Near zoo
Cite this Entry
“Zoo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zoo. Accessed 18 Jan. 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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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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