zing
Americannoun
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zings
plural
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vitality, animation, or zest.
-
a quality or characteristic that excites the interest, enthusiasm, etc..
a tourist town with lots of zing.
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a sharp singing or whining noise, as of a bullet passing through the air.
verb (used without object)
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zings,
present (3rd person singular)
-
zinged,
past participle, past
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zinging
present participle
-
to move or proceed with a sharp singing or whining noise.
The cars zinged down the highway.
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to move or proceed with speed or vitality; zip.
verb (used with object)
-
zings,
present (3rd person singular)
-
zinged,
past participle, past
-
zinging
present participle
-
to cause to move with or as with a sharp, singing or whining noise.
The pitcher zinged a slider right over the plate.
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Slang. to blame or criticize severely.
City Hall always gets zinged when crime increases.
noun
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a short high-pitched buzzing sound, as of a bullet or vibrating string
-
vitality; zest
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
zingsimple
-
zingssimple
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have zingedperfect
-
has zingedperfect
-
am zingingprogressive
-
are zingingprogressive
-
is zingingprogressive
-
have been zingingperfect progressive
-
has been zingingperfect progressive
Past
-
zingedsimple
-
had zingedperfect
-
was zingingprogressive
-
were zingingprogressive
-
had been zingingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of zing
First recorded in 1910–15; imitative
Explanation
Zing is a quality of excitement or enthusiasm. If you want to add some zing to your nephew's birthday party, you might want to hire a magician or offer pony rides. A director might add zing to her movie by enticing a big movie star to play a role, and your brother may tend to put extra zing in his stories in the form of exaggerated, colorful details. In both examples, zing makes something that's slightly dull seem a bit livelier. You can also use zing for a spicy or piquant flavor: "I put some cayenne pepper in the sauce to give it some zing."
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:
All around them, the zing is missing, the villains are lackluster, the energy is low.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
The devil cuts loose, zing boom! — that capture Hedda’s feverish mood shifts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2025
After baking and cooling, each pie gets a brown sugar–orange glaze that hardens just enough to crack when you bite, a sprinkle of flaky Turbinado sugar, and, yes, more orange zest for that extra zing.
From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2025
After recovering from a serious hip injury, Breach has rediscovered her pinball zing.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2025
She didn’t speak directly to Jesse, but she gave him a look with those blue eyes of hers that made him zing like one of the strings she was strumming.
From "Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Paterson
If I have to have a very difficult conversation, am I going to feel the zings and zaps of anxiety, stress and fear?
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2023
Yet as he lay horizontally watching the show in his red bunk bed, those same yips and mews and zings never got old.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2021
Some chopped tomatoes and cucumbers offer texture and a change of pace; lemon juice zings through it all.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 15, 2021
Green Goddess dip zings with herbs, and guacamole is always a solid choice.
From New York Times ● May 9, 2020
The truth of that sentence zings through me, zillions of times stronger than any shin pain.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
As Stinson’s anxiety appeared to be spiraling, Trevino — looking at his cap — zinged him: “Dodgers, are you kidding me?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2023
John Updike zinged him on several occasions and gave an unpleasant lawyer the name Gilman in his novel “S.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 13, 2023
Constant said what shocked him was when about 200 people in the assembly chamber “cheered zealously. That was the part that zinged me and really took my breath away for a minute,” he said.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 1, 2021
Now on the mound, the lefty zinged it.
From Fox News ● Sep. 20, 2021
Still, he couldn’t help feeling the warm sensation of pleasure at having zinged Tom.
From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer
Still, theater critics zinging Zacharia’s lack of polish are missing the point.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
"This is one of those few shows that I'm involved in where I can go 'you need to come. It's really good', because the zinging one-liners are all his."
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
From the control room next door, the animals show up as dots on the computer monitors, looking like remote-control Ping-Pong balls zinging around the room and occasionally coming to rest in odd corners.
From Scientific American ● Jun. 16, 2023
The Hebrew-school comedy “Tahara” mimics the zinging pleasure of overhearing teenagers chatter as they walk home from school: It’s gossipy, delicious and a tad cruel.
From New York Times ● Jun. 9, 2022
There was a funny feeling that traveled down Bridge’s legs sometimes—a zinging rush to her feet.
From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
