unzip
Americanverb (used with object)
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unzips,
present (3rd person singular)
-
unzipped,
past participle, past
-
unzipping
present participle
verb (used without object)
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unzips,
present (3rd person singular)
-
unzipped,
past participle, past
-
unzipping
present participle
verb
-
to unfasten the zip of (a garment) or (of a zip or garment with a zip) to become unfastened
her skirt unzipped as she sat down
-
(tr) computing to decompress (a file) that had previously been zipped
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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unzipsimple
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unzipssimple
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have unzippedperfect
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has unzippedperfect
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am unzippingprogressive
-
are unzippingprogressive
-
is unzippingprogressive
-
have been unzippingperfect progressive
-
has been unzippingperfect progressive
Past
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unzippedsimple
-
had unzippedperfect
-
was unzippingprogressive
-
were unzippingprogressive
-
had been unzippingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of unzip
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Typically, the export you get from a platform will be a giant bundle of files you can unzip and store on your drive.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Scientists have long suggested tectonic plates could unzip like this.
From Science Magazine ● Jan. 9, 2024
But when Arabidopsis seedlings sense they're under attack, special enzymes called RNA helicases are produced that unzip the hairpins so the ribosomes can pass through and continue scanning along the mRNA molecule.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2023
“Even the basic mechanics of going to the bathroom and being able to unzip your pants instead of taking the entire onesie off and having your arms drag on the floor is meaningful.”
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 10, 2023
Churro squirmed to get free, and Natalie found just enough energy to unzip her hoodie before letting her hand flop back on the floor.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
She unzips a cloth pouch of ground tobacco leaf mixed with sage and cedar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2023
Replication in prokaryotes starts from a sequence of nucleotides on the chromosome called the origin of replication—the point at which the DNA opens up or unzips.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
"It is like he just unzips his head and let's everything fall on the table. That is no way to run an economy," thundered Mr Morrison.
From BBC ● May 19, 2022
“Some people hate what I wear, some people praise it,” she continued as she unzips an oversized black hoodie.
From Fox News ● May 27, 2020
Hannah unzips it and hands it to me through the van window.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Hailey Bieber modeled it with an unzipped jacket.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
He unzipped the bottom of his blue jeans to display the prosthetic limb on his leg.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2025
I slowly unzipped the tent door, poked my head out and saw it: a lone bison head-butting a picnic table, lifting one end into the air with alarming ease.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2025
In a cramped apartment in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Pavlo, a 30-year-old drone operator who had recently returned from the front, unzipped a black case about the size of a pizza box.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2025
I unzipped my bag, pulled out my journal and started writing everything down.
From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña
The actress and crew are seen unzipping the black bags and pulling out dozens of bras, which are then tied together and thrown over parts of the structure.
From BBC ● Feb. 2, 2026
When they finished, it was immediately apparent how DNA copies itself, by unzipping down the middle, allowing each chain to find a new partner.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2025
"It would have been this slow, ongoing tear, almost like the crust unzipping itself," Anderson said.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 6, 2024
One of them, Macon Ponder, testified Wednesday that, after unzipping it, he found a body in a fetal position, partially wrapped in blankets.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 5, 2023
Before Cat could stop him, he was unzipping his bag and lugging out his shark encyclopedia.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
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.
