Zulu

American  

[zoo-loo] / ˈzu lu /

noun

plural

Zulus,

plural

Zulu

1. a member of a Nguni people living mainly in Natal, Republic of South Africa.

2. the Bantu language of the Zulu.

3. a word used in communications to represent the letter Z.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Zulus or their language.

Zulu British  

/ -luː, ˈzuːlʊ /

noun

1. a member of a tall Negroid people of SE Africa, living chiefly in South Africa, who became dominant during the 19th century due to a warrior-clan system organized by the powerful leader, Shaka

2. the language of this people, belonging to the Bantu group of the Niger-Congo family, closely related to Swazi and Xhosa

3. communications a code word for the letter z

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Etymology

Origin of Zulu

from Zulu amaZulu people of the sky

Example Sentences

I speak a little bit of Zulu, so I directly translated the words, and I even spoke to some of my South African friends, and most of them don’t even know what it means.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

"Dudula" means "to remove something by force" in the Zulu language.

From BBC • Jan. 31, 2026

Driven by poverty and unemployment, the zama zamas -- which means "those who try" in the Zulu language -- descend deep into still gold-bearing shafts abandoned by mining companies or dig out new ones.

From Barron's • Jan. 23, 2026

In September, a private investigator allegedly hired by the Zambian government visited the morgue and demanded to see the deceased, according to family spokesman Makebi Zulu.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 4, 2025

Among the dozens of Zulu chiefdoms, the Mtetwa chiefdom enjoyed no advantage whatsoever of technology, writing, or germs over the other chiefdoms, which it nevertheless succeeded in defeating.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond