any of several horselike African mammals of the genus Equus, each species having a characteristic pattern of black or dark-brown stripes on a whitish background: all zebra species are threatened or endangered.
Also called zebra butterfly. a tropical butterfly, Heliconius charithonius, having black wings barred with yellow.
(initial capital letter) a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter Z.
Football Slang. an official, who usually wears a black and white striped shirt.
British. zebra crossing.
1590–1600; 1975–80 zebra for def. 4; < Portuguese zebra, zebro the Iberian wild ass ( Spanish cebra ), perhaps < Latin equiferus (Pliny) kind of wild horse, equivalent to equi- (combining form of equus horse) + ferus wild
That black-and-white striped animal that looks like a horse? That's a zebra, a large African animal with hooves that you're most likely to see in a zoo. Like donkeys and horses, zebras are members of the family Equidae, or the horse family. Unlike the horses, however, zebras haven't ever truly been domesticated — so don't count on fulfilling your dream of riding a zebra. Zebra comes from Italian, ultimately going back to the Latin root equiferus, "wild horse." In the U.S., the first syllable of zebra is pronounced "zee," but in the U.K., it has a short e sound, like "tepid" or "web."
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There have also been a number of pedestrian deaths, including 86-year-old grandmother Gloria Stephenson, who was struck at a zebra crossing in Sunderland last year by an illegal e-motorbike.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
“Life is all about perspective. If you ask the grass, the zebra is the monster and the lion is the protector,” Price wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
A zoo frantically looked for an escaped zebra but discovered the animal on the loose was actually a repainted donkey.
From MarketWatch ● May 4, 2026
In 2024, a theoretical astrophysicist at the University of Kansas proposed a solution that explained much of this unusual "zebra" pattern.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 28, 2026
Workmen put red vinyl booths along the far wall and reupholstered the old barstools with Zizmo’s zebra skin.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Zebra Technologies, which makes bar code scanners and printers, concluded in the second quarter that it was likely to get a refund of all $73 million in past tariff payments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
The Zebra fire began Monday around 7 p.m. near State Route 39 and Mountain Laurel Way in Azusa and has closed the highway at Sierra Madre Highway.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Automation technology provider Zebra Technologies expects memory chips to be in short supply through 2027.
From Barron's ● May 14, 2026
Zebra Technologies’ first-quarter earnings per share rose 18.2% to $4.75, with sales up 14.3% to $1.5 billion.
From Barron's ● May 12, 2026
Milton considered Marius to be a troublemaker, a view in which many Zebra Room patrons, white and black both, concurred.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
The 29,000-acre expanse of savannah and woodlands sits on the city’s edge, near two airports, yet it is home to lions, zebras and Maasai giraffes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
"How does cyanide kill the elephants and leave behind the zebras, antelopes and wildebeests, which are eating the grass together?"
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
The region's Guigang Zoo asked the public for help on Wednesday to find at least 100 animals that had escaped after their enclosures were damaged, including alpacas, miniature pigs, and zebras.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
In contrast, more distant relatives such as donkeys and zebras appear to lack the high frequency component.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 25, 2026
Almost immediately a herd of zebras passes in front of them.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
