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zigzag

[ zig-zag ]

/ ˈzɪgˌzæg /

SEE 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.

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Origin of zigzag

1705–15; <French; replacing earlier ziczac<French <German zickzack, gradational compound based on Zacketack¹

OTHER WORDS FROM zigzag

zig·zag·ged·ness

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

Words nearby zigzag

ziff, zig, ziggurat, Zigong, Ziguinchor, zigzag, zigzagger, zigzag rule, Zika, Zika virus, zikr

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for zigzag

The eccentric, improvisational zigzags in his early career, along with the array of challenging hobbies, suggest that Irvine is constantly searching for the proper match for his considerable abilities.
An Unexpected Twist Lights Up the Secrets of Turbulence|David H. Freedman|September 3, 2020|Quanta Magazine
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 forms of zigzag

zigzaggedness, 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

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