Words with Z

What makes Z special? The same things that have made Z a popular Scrabble letter for years and years: It's a 10-pointer. If you get the chance to play it on double word squares or triple word squares, it gives you a huge lead.

When you have a Z on your rack, you might not even be able to use it because you do not know any words with a Z. To make sure this doesn't happen, we've created this list of words with Z in them.

Interesting Words With Z

The word Z has its origins in the Greek alphabet, and was originally written using the Zeta symbol. According to etymologists, this particular symbol first appeared in use as far back as the 1st century BC and quickly became part of the alphabet that we know today as the Greek alphabet. Here are some fun letter Z words:

Zeugma

A zeugma, or syllepsis, is a rhetorical device in which a single word is used for two or more different meanings. The word zeugma comes from the Greek “zeugos” meaning “yoke'' or ”a joining.” An example of a zeugma is, “She broke his car and his heart.”

Zodiac

Zodiac is the term given in Western Astrology to a circle of twelve 30° sections, each divided into three 10° sections. The Zodiac can be thought of as an orbit which the sun and the moon travel along.

Zygote 

Zygote is an English word of Greek origin, formed from the prefix (zygos), 'joined', and the noun (or verb) gonas, 'birth,” referring to a cell formed by the process of fertilization of an ovum by a sperm.

Zymurgy 

The term zymurgy comes from the Greek words 'zyme' meaning 'fermented liquid' and 'metron' for 'measure'. In brewing, zymurgy is considered a branch of chemistry.

Zero

The Arabic term sifr is the source of our English word zero. It denotes the concept of no quantity or number; naught; the figure 0.

Zoom

Zoom is one of those words that people know but don't really understand how it came to be. It gained popularity in 1917 as aviators began to use it. It means the action of moving towards a place very quickly.

Zephyr

Zephyr is used to describe the west wind of spring , and is pronounced as zef-uhyr, zef-ehr. The word Zephyr originates from Greek mythology. Zephyrus is the god of the west wind, which was originally a chthonic deity. His name comes from Ζέφυρος which means 'blowing' and is thought to have originally referred to a spring breeze.

Zoilist

A zoilist is an unnecessarily harsh or carping critic, not to be confused with zealous which means “filled with or showing a strong and energetic desire to get something done or see something succeed”. It’s quite the opposite!

Zonky

Zonky is a 1970s slang for 'weird' or 'strange'. (A zonkey is the child of a zebra and a donkey, and is spelled with an E.)

Zeppelin

Zeppelins were a type of rigid airship named after the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin (inventor of such crafts) and mainly used for air travel prior to airplane technology.