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
Mithil Aggarwal, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024
The former Oklahoma zoo operator has steadfastly maintained his innocence and claims to have been set up.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 31 Oct. 2024
Dozens of zoo tigers die after contracting bird flu in southern Vietnam
Both the Missouri patient and their household member have been interviewed several times about potential exposures to the virus.
—Brenda Goodman, CNN, 24 Oct. 2024
Bearcats are considered vulnerable in some parts of their wild habitat and endangered in other parts, zoo officials said.
—Killian Baarlaer, The Courier-Journal, 19 Oct. 2024
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
She is prominently featured on zoo merchandise and has appeared in cosmetics, bakery and clothing advertisements.
—Mithil Aggarwal, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024
The former Oklahoma zoo operator has steadfastly maintained his innocence and claims to have been set up.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 31 Oct. 2024
Dozens of zoo tigers die after contracting bird flu in southern Vietnam
Both the Missouri patient and their household member have been interviewed several times about potential exposures to the virus.
—Brenda Goodman, CNN, 24 Oct. 2024
Bearcats are considered vulnerable in some parts of their wild habitat and endangered in other parts, zoo officials said.
—Killian Baarlaer, The Courier-Journal, 19 Oct. 2024
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 1 Dec. 2024.
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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