petting zoo

American  

noun

• petting zoos
  plural

1. a zoo, or a special part of a larger zoo, where children may hold and stroke and sometimes feed small or young animals.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• petting zoos
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

petting zoo

For Ostrovsky, the man who had left his wife and two daughters to get food, everything seemed to be fine when they arrived a little after 5.30 p.m. and saw bubbles and a petting zoo.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 15, 2025

“It’s very frustrating because I’m here in Montana trying to organize this search,” Ms. Keltgen, who runs a petting zoo in Anaconda, Mont., said in an interview on Saturday.

From New York Times ● May 4, 2024

Owner Kristine Keltgen recently bought the zebras and was transporting them from Lewis County to Montana, where she runs a 7-acre petting zoo.

From Seattle Times ● May 1, 2024

In Drake’s petting zoo, families and children are all over the goats, which wander person to person searching for snacks and attention.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2024

"Quack," he repeated as he landed in the soft hay on the petting zoo floor.

From "Pony Problems: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #3" by Carolyn Keene