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• zoom
  zoom

  verb (used without object)

  to move quickly or suddenly with a loud humming or buzzing sound.
• Zoom
  Zoom

  a brand name for a software application and online service that enables voice and video phone calls over the internet.

zoom

¹ American  

[zoom] / zum /

verb (used without object)

1. to move quickly or suddenly with a loud humming or buzzing sound.

   cars zooming by on the freeway.

   Synonyms:

   flash, streak, speed, buzz

2. to fly an airplane suddenly and sharply upward at great speed for a short distance, as in regaining altitude, clearing an obstacle, or signaling.

3. Movies, Television. to bring a subject, scene, etc., into closeup or cause it to recede into a long shot using a zoom lens and while maintaining focus.

4. Informal. to increase or rise suddenly and sharply.

   Rents would zoom without rent control laws.

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verb (used with object)

1. to cause (an airplane) to zoom.

2. to fly over (an obstacle) by zooming.

noun

• zooms
  plural

1. the act or process of zooming.

2. a zooming sound.

3. Informal. zoom lens.

4. Also called zoom shot. Movies, Television. a shot in which a subject, scene, or action is brought closer or made to recede by the use of a zoom lens.

verb phrase

1. zoom in (on)

   1. to bring (a subject, scene, etc.) into closeup by using a zoom lens.

      to zoom in for a look at the injured man; to zoom in on a candidate at a political convention.

   2. to examine more closely or in greater detail; focus on.

      The panel zoomed in on the subject of abortion.

Zoom ² American  

[zoom] / zum /

Trademark.

1. a brand name for a software application and online service that enables voice and video phone calls over the internet.

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verb (used with or without object)

1. to participate in a real-time conversation with (one or more people) using Zoom.

   Yesterday the kids Zoomed their grandparents in Florida.

   We Zoom with remote staff during our Friday meetings.

zoom British  

/ zuːm /

verb

1. to make or cause to make a continuous buzzing or humming sound

2. to move or cause to move with such a sound

3. (intr) to move very rapidly; rush

   we zoomed through town

4. to cause (an aircraft) to climb briefly at an unusually steep angle, or (of an aircraft) to climb in this way

5. (intr) (of prices) to rise rapidly

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noun

1. the sound or act of zooming

2. See zoom lens

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• zooms
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of zoom¹

First recorded in 1885–90; imitative

Origin of Zoom²

First recorded in 2010–15; shortening of Zoom Video Communications

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Explanation

Zoom zoom! This is a word for things moving quickly, either up or in a line. When you hear zoom, think fast. Zoom is a word that can be a sound effect, a noun, or a verb. In comic books, you might see a spaceship taking off with a word bubble saying ZOOM!. Fast cars can zoom; airplanes can zoom. You could say, "In one zoom, we were in the air!" Zooming can also mean to move while making a low humming noise that sounds like zoom. Like boom, zoom is a fun word: it's hard to say Zoom zoom! and be in a bad mood.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

zoom Zoom zooms

"Other simulations cannot zoom in as far as this," Vogelsberger notes.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 12, 2026

And if you zoom out just a little bit, you see this same disturbing inequality through a much bigger lens—and people are finally getting mad about it.

From Slate ● Nov. 3, 2026

As I navigated around a map, it was quicker for me to zoom and pan on the screen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

The title of the limited run has yet to be announced, but Dunham did ask her fellow cast on the mock zoom call, "can we still call it Girls?"

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

They flit and zoom around their little paradise.

From "King and the Dragonflies" by Kacen Callender

So I armed myself with some fun icebreakers on the advice of Berna Anat, head of creative education for the budgeting app Monarch, who hosts similar events twice a month via Zoom.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 10, 2026

Zoom out, though, and the row looks rather different.

From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026

Greene moved his event to Zoom to not cross the picket line and reportedly donated his honorarium to the union’s strike fund.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026

"The only time she ever had off was during Covid, and even then she was still on Zoom doing interviews all the time," said Sullivan.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

After she showed the video of me speaking at Gran’s church, then we would do the interview using Zoom.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

The Extend button zooms out on close-ups, generating visuals to fill the empty space.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

The map then zooms out of New York and away from Earth before the Spider-Man icon indicates he has been spotted somewhere in outer space.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

The camera then zooms into Beddoes' face and he pushes it away.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

She throws a different leather handbag onto the passenger seat of her car, pulls on a pair of black leather driving gloves, and zooms off.

From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026

It’s easier to run on the sidewalk than on the trail, at least, but a car zooms through a puddle, splashing our legs with brown road water.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

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Related Words

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• whiz
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