zephyr
noun
a gentle, mild breeze.
zephyr
American
[zef-er]
/ ˈzɛf ər /
noun
-
zephyrs
plural
-
a gentle, mild breeze.
-
(initial capital letter) the west wind.
-
any of various things of fine, light quality, as fabric, yarn, etc.
zephyr
British
/ ˈzɛfə /
noun
-
a soft or gentle breeze
-
any of several delicate soft yarns, fabrics, or garments, usually of wool
Zephyr
Cultural
Synonym Usage
See wind 1.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of zephyr
First recorded before 1000 zephyr for def. 2; Middle English, from Latin zephyrus, from Greek zéphyros “the west wind”; replacing Middle English zeferus, zephirus, Old English zefferus, from Latin as above
Explanation
Besides being the name of Babar's monkey friend in the much-beloved picture books about the elephant Babar, a zephyr is a gentle breeze. In Greek mythology, Zephuros was the god of the west wind, and the bringer of light and early spring breezes. Zephyr derives from his name. That first day of spring, where suddenly you don't have to wear your jacket to school for the first time all winter? Thank the zephyr for that.
Vocabulary lists containing zephyr
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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:
Indulge yourself with handcrafted, artisanal, small-batch chocolates, including yuzu pâte de fruit, sesame crunch, honey ganache and cinnamon zephyr ganache flavors.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 16, 2023
Needless to say, if you just want breeze through life, make the Zero Breeze* your personal zephyr TODAY!
From Golf Digest ● Jun. 27, 2017
“Arrival” Anthony Lane reviewed the movie: “What lingers from this alien encounter is neither the wizardry nor the climax but the zephyr of emotional intensity that blows through the film.”
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 24, 2017
The once-soft air is now an ever-sturdier wall; any gentle zephyr a gale, volatile and tricky.
From The Verge ● Feb. 9, 2016
“I thought, last year, that I loved you—but that was as a zephyr to a gale, compared to this engulfing, enveloping worship of now,” she wrote.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
A version of this story originally appeared on Max Kutner’s Zephyr Letter substack.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
That uncertainty is by design, according to Zephyr Teachout, a Fordham University law professor.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 1, 2026
And then there were train enthusiasts like an 11-year-old passenger, who was wearing a homemade California Zephyr shirt, a blue Amtrak baseball hat and a lanyard with collectible pins.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025
“Now you have machine learning trained on identifying the desperation index of workers,” Zephyr Teachout, a professor of law at Fordham University, told me.
From Slate ● Oct. 13, 2024
Michael Ravens, aka Zephyr, is standing behind me.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
If we had wind chimes, it would’ve been a Lollapalooza monsoon of surly zephyrs all the livelong night.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 23, 2025
Short and stout pattypan are as cute as buttons; slender, two-toned zephyrs look like their bottoms have been dipped in green dye; pale green chayote could be mistaken for pears at first glance.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 13, 2021
It is made for the Gulf of Bothnia and the alleyways of Jokkmokk and the lethal zephyrs of Njörðr.
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 25, 2018
An astringent, earthy aroma infused the Pacific zephyrs wafting through the buskers, joggers, skateboarders, tourists and panhandlers.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 30, 2017
Fireflies, Fireflies, lovely as our dreams are, Sewn with such fancies from the years gone by, Wayward, elusive, as the playful zephyrs, Hiding mid grasses, gleaming in the sky.
From The Melody of Earth An Anthology of Garden and Nature Poems From Present-Day Poets by Various
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.
