zip — English Dictionary

Noun

1. The high-pitched sound of a small object moving rapidly through air.

2. Energy; vigor; vim.

   Usage

   • Informal

3. A zip fastener.

   Usage

   • Commonwealth usage
   • Ireland
   • UK usage

   Examples

   Catrin: What sort of doctor wears a suit? My doctor wears a fleece. Can see his nasty little chest hairs poking through the zip…

4. Zero; nothing.

   Usage

   • Slang

   Examples

   I know zip about economics.

5. A trip on a zipline.

6. A zip file.

   Usage

   • Informal

7. Synonym of convolution (“a type of mapping function”).

8. Synonym of zip zap zop

9. An ounce of marijuana.

   Usage

   • Slang

Interjection

1. Imitative of high-pitched sound of a small object moving rapidly through air.

   Usage

   • onomatopoeic

   Synonyms

   wheewhizzzing

   Examples

   `Zip!' Just like that, an exquisitely shaped fragment of a flashing rainbow in flight flits across in front of us[.]

Verb

1. To close with a zip fastener.

   Usage

   • Transitive

2. To close as if with a zip fastener.

   Usage

   • Figurative
   • Transitive

   Examples

   Zip your lip!

3. To compress (one or more computer files) into a single and often smaller file, especially one in the ZIP format.

   Usage

   • Transitive

4. To subject to the convolution mapping function.

   Usage

   • Transitive

5. To move rapidly (in a specified direction or to a specified place) with a high-pitched sound.

   Usage

   • Intransitive
   • followed by a preposition

   Examples

   The bullet zipped through the air.

6. To move in haste (in a specified direction or to a specified place).

   Usage

   • Colloquial
   • Intransitive
   • followed by a preposition

   Examples

   Zip down to the shops for some milk.

   “I’ll be right there,” said Chase. She zipped into the office to pour a bowl of diet treats for Quincy.

   More examples (1)

   Despite writing that can be confusing — we are not told, for example, how Oishi’s group of 56 ronin ended up just 47, or maybe a supertitle zipped by too quickly — the story moves at a steady clip. And Dachs’s decision to have women play some of the male roles, most prominently Kira, is very effective.

7. To make (something) move quickly

   Usage

   • Transitive

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   Tottenham also initially struggled to create genuine goal-scoring opportunities, with Bale, Luka Modric and Rafael van der Vaart zipping passes around to little effect.

8. To travel on a zipline.

9. To offer a list of alternately male and female candidates in an attempt to address the shortage of women.

   Usage

   • UK usage

Noun

1. a quantity of no importance; thing (object:), singular, negative pronoun; pronoun, thing, singular; quantifier: negative existential

   Synonyms

   nothingnilnixnadanullaughtciphercyphergoose eggnaughtzerozilchzippo

   Broader terms

   relative quantity

   Examples

   it looked like nothing I had ever seen before

   reduced to nil all the work we had done

   More examples (3)

   we racked up a pathetic goose egg

   it was all for naught

   I didn't hear zilch about it

2. forceful exertion

   Synonyms

   energyvigorvigour

   Broader terms

   forceforcefulnessstrength

   Examples

   he plays tennis with great energy

   he's full of zip

3. a fastener for locking together two toothed edges by means of a sliding tab

   Synonyms

   slide fastenerzipperzip fastener

   Broader terms

   fastenerfasteningholdfastfixing

Verb

1. close with a zipper

   Synonyms

   zip upzipper

   Broader terms

   fastenfixsecure

   Examples

   Zip up your jacket — it's cold

2. move very fast

   Synonyms

   travel rapidlyspeedhurry

   Broader terms

   travelgomovelocomote

   Examples

   The runner zipped past us at breakneck pace