Definition of ZED

zed

Plural: zeds

Noun

  • The name of the letter Z in British English.
  • the 26th letter of the Roman alphabet
    • "the British call Z zed and the Scots call it ezed but Americans call it zee"
  • The name of the Latin-script letter Z/z.
  • Something Z-shaped.
  • Sleep.
  • A zombie.

Verb

  • To sleep or nap. (Compare zzz, catch some z's.)
  • To zigzag; to move with sharp alternating turns.

Examples

  • A horde of zeds began to shuffle into the shopping mall.
  • Finding a ZED in your rack is often the key to a high-scoring word.
  • I'm going to go get some zeds.
  • zed-bar

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English zed, zedde, zede, from Old French zede, from Late Latin zeta, from Ancient Greek ζῆτα (zêta), from Hebrew ז (zayin) with influence from beta, eta and theta. Letter had rare nonstandard usage in Old English, such as in bezt, where it represented "ts" (compare the German, Italian, and Finnish pronunciation of Z). For the sleep sense, see zzz. The zombie sense comes from the initial letter. Doublet of zeta. Cognate to Spanish zeta, German Zett, French zède, Italian zeta, and perhaps Portuguese zê.

Synonyms

ezed, izzard, z, Z, zee

Scrabble Score: 13

zed: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
zed: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
zed: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 13

zed: valid Words With Friends Word