zigzag

[ zig-zag ]

/ ˈzɪgˌzæg /

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR zigzag ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a line, course, or progression characterized by sharp turns first to one side and then to the other.

one of a series of such turns, as in a line or path.

adjective

proceeding or formed in a zigzag: zigzag stitches.

adverb

with frequent sharp turns from side to side; in a zigzag manner: The child ran zigzag along the beach.

verb (used with object), zig·zagged, zig·zag·ging.

to make (something) zigzag, as in form or course; move or maneuver (something) in a zigzag direction: They zigzagged their course to confuse the enemy.

verb (used without object), zig·zagged, zig·zag·ging.

to proceed in a zigzag line or course.

RELATED WORDS

irregular, diagonal, rambling, meandering, crooked, serrated, inclined, twisted, undulating, oblique, winding, bent, jagged, sloping, fluctuating, twisting, snaking, askew, awry, devious

Nearby words

zig, zig-zag, ziggurat, zigong, ziguinchor, zigzag, zigzag rule, zigzagger, zika, zika virus, zikr

Origin of zigzag

1705–15; < French; replacing earlier ziczac < French < German zickzack, gradational compound based on Zacke tack¹

Related formszig·zag·ged·ness

[zig-zag-id-nis] /ˈzɪgˌzæg ɪd nɪs/, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for zigzag

The first was christened by the great etiquette guru Emily Post as “zigzag” eating.
The Strange Way We Eat: Bee Wilson’s ‘Consider the Fork’|Bee Wilson|October 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Suddenly sharp flashes of lightning darted in zigzag rays through the gloom.
Patchwork|Anna Balmer Myers
Here he deflected toward the mountains, taking the zigzag path that ran like a winding thread among the rocks as it mounted.
Mavericks|William MacLeod Raine
All down the zigzag hill into the town the machinery said nothing at all.
Through East Anglia in a Motor Car|J. E. (James Edmund) Vincent

By-spines (one hundred and fifty to two hundred) very thin, barbed and zigzag, as long as the radius.
Report on the Radiolaria Collected by H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-1876, First Part: Porulosa (Spumellaria and Acantharia)|Ernst Haeckel
At the base of the trunk a calabash is put, and the latex trickles down into this by way of the zigzag cuts.
Rubber|Edith A. Browne

British Dictionary definitions for zigzag

zigzag

/ (ˈzɪɡˌzæɡ) /

noun

a line or course characterized by sharp turns in alternating directions

one of the series of such turns

something having the form of a zigzag

adjective

(usually prenominal) formed in or proceeding in a zigzag

(of sewing machine stitches) produced in a zigzag by a swing needle used for joining stretch fabrics, neatening raw edges, etc

adverb

in a zigzag manner

verb -zags, -zagging or -zagged

to proceed or cause to proceed in a zigzag

(tr) to form into a zigzag

Derived Formszigzaggedness, nounzigzagger, noun

Word Origin for zigzag

C18: from French, from German zickzack, from Zacke point, jagged projection; see tack 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012