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• zoom
  zoom

  verb (used without object)

  to move quickly or suddenly with a loud humming or buzzing sound.
• Zoom
  Zoom

  a brand name for a software application and online service that enables voice and video phone calls over the internet.

zoom

¹ American  

[zoom] / zum /

verb (used without object)

1. to move quickly or suddenly with a loud humming or buzzing sound.

   cars zooming by on the freeway.

   Synonyms:

   flash, streak, speed, buzz

2. to fly an airplane suddenly and sharply upward at great speed for a short distance, as in regaining altitude, clearing an obstacle, or signaling.

3. Movies, Television. to bring a subject, scene, etc., into closeup or cause it to recede into a long shot using a zoom lens and while maintaining focus.

4. Informal. to increase or rise suddenly and sharply.

   Rents would zoom without rent control laws.

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verb (used with object)

1. to cause (an airplane) to zoom.

2. to fly over (an obstacle) by zooming.

noun

• zooms
  plural

1. the act or process of zooming.

2. a zooming sound.

3. Informal. zoom lens.

4. Also called zoom shot. Movies, Television. a shot in which a subject, scene, or action is brought closer or made to recede by the use of a zoom lens.

verb phrase

1. zoom in (on)

   1. to bring (a subject, scene, etc.) into closeup by using a zoom lens.

      to zoom in for a look at the injured man; to zoom in on a candidate at a political convention.

   2. to examine more closely or in greater detail; focus on.

      The panel zoomed in on the subject of abortion.

Zoom ² American  

[zoom] / zum /

Trademark.

1. a brand name for a software application and online service that enables voice and video phone calls over the internet.

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verb (used with or without object)

1. to participate in a real-time conversation with (one or more people) using Zoom.

   Yesterday the kids Zoomed their grandparents in Florida.

   We Zoom with remote staff during our Friday meetings.

zoom British  

/ zuːm /

verb

1. to make or cause to make a continuous buzzing or humming sound

2. to move or cause to move with such a sound

3. (intr) to move very rapidly; rush

   we zoomed through town

4. to cause (an aircraft) to climb briefly at an unusually steep angle, or (of an aircraft) to climb in this way

5. (intr) (of prices) to rise rapidly

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noun

1. the sound or act of zooming

2. See zoom lens

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• zooms
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of zoom¹

First recorded in 1885–90; imitative

Origin of Zoom²

First recorded in 2010–15; shortening of Zoom Video Communications

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Explanation

Zoom zoom! This is a word for things moving quickly, either up or in a line. When you hear zoom, think fast. Zoom is a word that can be a sound effect, a noun, or a verb. In comic books, you might see a spaceship taking off with a word bubble saying ZOOM!. Fast cars can zoom; airplanes can zoom. You could say, "In one zoom, we were in the air!" Zooming can also mean to move while making a low humming noise that sounds like zoom. Like boom, zoom is a fun word: it's hard to say Zoom zoom! and be in a bad mood.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

zoom Zoom zooms

And if you zoom out just a little bit, you see this same disturbing inequality through a much bigger lens—and people are finally getting mad about it.

From Slate ● Nov. 3, 2026

New sector ETFs from other firms also zoom in on an industry’s top holdings, but use different approaches.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

The title of the limited run has yet to be announced, but Dunham did ask her fellow cast on the mock zoom call, "can we still call it Girls?"

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

At the end of a slow zoom shot, we see the article’s title in Italian until it’s translated for us in English: “A Machine Has Been Invented That Photographs the Past.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

I zoom in to catch the dramatic effect.

From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed

During the Zoom interview, Rodewald noted that the show’s original director, Annie Dorsen, gave them the confidence “to not try to please everyone,” to just make something they thought was cool.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

“I kept hearing, ‘Oh, you have to see this play, this play is so good,’” she recalled during a Zoom interview from the show’s San Francisco stop.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026

"The only time she ever had off was during Covid, and even then she was still on Zoom doing interviews all the time," said Sullivan.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

When we speak to Dr Sim over Zoom from her home, her two dogs are curled up in their beds at her feet.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

I bought a Zoom off a person I remember absolutely nothing about.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

Metro zooms out to "extreme weather" events impacting people "at home and abroad", carrying the story of "1 million Chinese forced to flee Typhoon Dolphin as Britain braces for yet another 36C heatwave".

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

She throws a different leather handbag onto the passenger seat of her car, pulls on a pair of black leather driving gloves, and zooms off.

From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026

Over the next eight seconds, as the ball zooms from side to side, four different Knicks find their way into the lane.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026

“Nevertheless, I personally don’t think you can short stocks right now until bonds re-break, or chase back into positioning zooms to ‘extreme greedy/ FOMO’ behavior first,” said the strategist.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 16, 2026

Finally, the camera zooms in on my hands, pounding at a nail, before it turns upward into the skyline with trees like umbrellas and the whole thing fades.

From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio

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