z
abbreviation
zone.
z
1 Americanabbreviation
z
2
American
Symbol, Mathematics.
-
an unknown quantity or variable.
-
(in Cartesian coordinates) the z- axis.
Z
3
American
[zee, zed, iz-erd]
/ zi, zɛd, ˈɪz ərd /
Or
z
noun
-
Z's,
plural
-
Zs,
plural
-
z's,
plural
-
zs
plural
-
the 26th letter of the English alphabet, a consonant.
-
any spoken sound represented by the letter Z or z, as in zero, zigzag, or buzzer.
-
something having the shape of a Z .
-
a written or printed representation of the letter Z or z.
-
a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter Z or z.
Z
4
American
Z
5
American
Symbol.
-
the 26th in order or in a series.
-
(sometimes lowercase) the medieval Roman numeral for 2000.
-
Chemistry, Physics. atomic number.
-
Electricity. impedance.
z.
6
American
abbreviation
Z
1
British
symbol
-
any unknown, variable, or unspecified factor, number, person, or thing
-
chem atomic number
-
physics impedance
-
zone
-
currency zaïre
abbreviation
z
2
British
/ ziː, zɛd /
noun
-
the 26th and last letter and the 20th consonant of the modern English alphabet
-
a speech sound represented by this letter, in English usually a voiced alveolar fricative, as in zip
-
-
something shaped like a Z
-
( in combination )
a Z-bend in a road
-
z
3
British
symbol
-
the z- axis or a coordinate measured along the z- axis in a Cartesian or cylindrical coordinate system
-
an algebraic variable
z
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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:
For example: “If we do this, could it prevent us from reaching the revenue target because x, y and z might happen?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
Fyfield Manor, near Wallingford in Oxfordshire, posted a video to its TikTok page on Monday with the caption: "When you ask your gen z daughter to write the marketing script."
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2024
"The dumbbell thus acts a bit like the needle on a compass, allowing us to read off the z coordinate according to its orientation," says Prof. Dr. Dieter Meschede.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 5, 2024
If z = 4, 16, 37, 58, 89, 145, 42 or 20, then ijk is a sad number.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 24, 2023
“Z zzzz zz zzzz zz zzzzz z zzzzzzzzz, Zzzzzz.”
From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
Generation Z remains the most optimistic, with 58% expecting to be financially prepared for retirement, though this is down from 63% in 2025.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
So the consumer insights team used their vast pool of data to create a series of customer profiles including Gen Z shoppers from the U.S. and China.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Hopefully the generation of Gen Z musicians depicted in the film still lust over the chance to try, even as a wretched economy makes road-dogging harder today while digital fame beckons instead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
The drop was largest for Gen Z: 75% of respondents called the cost of tickets the main barrier to concerts in 2024; two years later, that fell to 57%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
“About a week, as far as I can gather,” Z lied.
From "Ruby Holler" by Sharon Creech
“Miles, without a z. My apologies for the stuff I said about your dad in our battle.”
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
Zodiac, z. system outcome of religious thought, 247, 434; zodiacal interpretation of the gods, 82, 310-1, 434, 462-3, 676; almost the entire zodiac known to the Babylonians, 456.
From The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria by Morris Jastrow
This is always a case simply of imperfections in h and z. a.
From The Mind of the Child, Part II The Development of the Intellect, International Education Series Edited By William T. Harris, Volume IX. by William T. Preyer
Pronounce the s like z. shame, etc., was ashamed and was quietly making a hole in the shingle roof so as to get away.
From Jamaican Song and Story Annancy stories, digging sings, ring tunes, and dancing tunes by Walter Jekyll
J, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, y, z. until you have covered all the consonants.
From What Every Singer Should Know by Millie Ryan
This is, in part, why I’m surprised at Gen Z’s dismissal of Holden Caulfield as a whiny white rich-kid hypocrite.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
Only a mint green handbag and full sleeves of tattoos suggested that Gen Z’s reigning rock star had settled in to talk about his new album “Oh Yeah?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
How should employers respond to Gen Z’s ethical concerns about their work having a positive impact and aligning with their social values?
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
Generation Z’s approach to risk management is uninformed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
What Trepid hadn’t reckoned on was that Z had known Tiller and Sairy most of his life, and that Z’s cabin was over the far side of the holler, which made Z their nearest neighbor.
From "Ruby Holler" by Sharon Creech
But when Gen Zs talk about their yearning to yearn, it’s not necessarily about a need to reshape existing stories to their specifications, but about whatever arrangement of words and attitudes resonates with them.
From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2026
Perhaps it was due to the large volume of young children stood in the crowd amongst us Gen Zs and millennials.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2025
This week, Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers debate one of the great questions of our time: Do Gen Zs even get checks?
From Slate ● Sep. 7, 2024
“We see a lot of demand for our products and services coming from Gen Zs and Millennials. They are also signing up for premium products.”
From Reuters ● Oct. 20, 2023
He always curled the tip of his Ks, and his Zs looked like chubby 3s.
From "I Will Always Write Back" by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda
It’s like a mini sensory deprivation pod, perfect for catching some z’s mid-flight.
From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2024
Horses have specialized anatomical features that enable them to stay on their hooves while catching some z's.
From Scientific American ● Jun. 12, 2023
Finally, ties were broken based on things like which word was the most fun to say or whether any of the word choices included especially cool letters like z’s or w’s.
From Slate ● Sep. 2, 2015
Her chromosomal structure, as a from-the-crypt voice tells us, isn’t so much a matter of the usual x’s and y’s as it is of z’s.
From New York Times ● Sep. 19, 2011
Only Momma could decipher the lacy handwriting with its long, tall letters all bunched together and the lines running into one another because of the long-tailed, fancy z’s and f’s and g’s.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
This is Siesta of a Hungarian Snake: s sz sz SZ sz SZ sz Zs zs Zs zs zs z Morgan was born into a middle-class family in Hyndland, in Glasgow's west end.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 19, 2010
Almost immediately, on a shortwave band, they can hear someone talking in a strange language full of zs and s’s.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
C or cz is pronounced as English ts; cs as English ch; ds as English j; zs as French j; gy as dy.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 8 "Hudson River" to "Hurstmonceaux" by Various
They think if they talk like they had an egg in there mouth an put in lots of zs its French.
From "Same old Bill, eh Mable!" by G. William Breck
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.
