Used to describe actions that started in the past and continue into or have direct relevance to the present.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Occasional experiences of “mindless eating” or “dissociative eating” are human; most of us have zoned out with a bag of chips at one point or another.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
But it is precisely that structure that international competitors to the U.S. have zoned in on while battling for a shot at Olympic gold in head-to-head contests over the past year.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 22, 2023
Young people have spent way too many hours on Zoom, and way too many of them have zoned out of school altogether.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 26, 2021
Others, Weitz says, have zoned out, relaxed, or they've become energized by the whispered words.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2016
Reasoning that an influx of families in matchbox homes would overload their schools with children, these communities have zoned all lots for one, two and three acres.
From Time Magazine Archive
