zebra


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Financial, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

ze·bra

 (zē′brə)
n.
1. Any of several swift African mammals of the genus Equus, resembling the horse and having distinctive overall markings of alternating white and black or brown stripes.
2. Any of various striped organisms, such as a zebrafish.
3. A referee in football.

[Italian, from Portuguese zevra, from Old Portuguese zevro, zevra, wild ass, perhaps from Vulgar Latin *eciferus, alteration of Latin equiferus, a kind of wild horse : equus, horse; see equine + ferus, wild; see feral. Sense 3, from the referee's striped shirt.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

zebra

(ˈziːbrə; ˈzɛbrə)
n, pl -ras or -ra
(Animals) any of several mammals of the horse family (Equidae), such as Equus burchelli (the common zebra), of southern and eastern Africa, having distinctive black-and-white striped hides
[C16: via Italian from Old Spanish: wild ass, probably from Vulgar Latin eciferus (unattested) wild horse, from Latin equiferus, from equus horse + ferus wild]
ˈzebra-ˌlike, zebraic adj
zebrine, ˈzebroid adj

Zebra

(ˈziːbrə; ˈzɛbrə)
n
(Banking & Finance) a noninterest-paying bond in which the accrued income is taxed annually rather than on redemption. Compare zero12
[C20: from zero-coupon bond]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ze•bra

(ˈzi brə; Brit. also ˈzɛb rə)

n., pl. -bras, (esp. collectively) -bra.
1. any of several horselike African mammals of the genus Equus, each species having a characteristic pattern of black or dark brown stripes on a whitish background.
2. Slang. a football official, who usu. wears a black and white striped shirt.
[1590–1600; < Portuguese zebra, zebro the Iberian wild ass (Sp cebra), perhaps < Latin equiferus (Pliny) kind of wild horse]
ze′brine (-braɪn, -brɪn) adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.zebra - any of several fleet black-and-white striped African equineszebra - any of several fleet black-and-white striped African equines
Equus, genus Equus - type genus of the Equidae: only surviving genus of the family Equidae
equid, equine - hoofed mammals having slender legs and a flat coat with a narrow mane along the back of the neck
Burchell's zebra, common zebra, Equus Burchelli - of the plains of central and eastern Africa
Equus zebra zebra, mountain zebra - narrow-striped nearly extinct zebra of southern Africa
Equus grevyi, grevy's zebra - zebra with less continuous stripes
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
зебра
zebra
zebra
zebro
sebra
seepra
zebra
zebra
zebra
sebrahestur
シマウマ
얼룩말
pėsčiųjų perėjazebras
zebra
zebră
zebra
zebra
зебра
zebra
punda milia
ม้าลาย
ngựa vằn

zebra

[ˈziːbrə]
A. N (zebras or zebra (pl)) → cebra f
B. CPD zebra crossing N (Brit) → paso m de peatones, paso m de cebra
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

zebra

[ˈzɛbrə ˈziːbrə] nzèbre mzebra crossing n (British)passage m pour piétons
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

zebra

nZebra nt

zebra

:
zebra crossing
n (Brit) → Zebrastreifen m
zebra finch
n (Orn) → Zebrafink m
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

zebra

[ˈziːbrə] nzebra
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

zebra

(ˈziːbrə) , (ˈzeb-) plural ˈzebras ~ˈzebra noun
a kind of striped animal of the horse family, found wild in Africa. two zebras; a herd of zebras.
zebra crossing
a place, marked in black and white stripes, where traffic stops for pedestrians to cross a street.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

zebra

حِمارٌ وَحْشِيٌّ مُخَطَّط zebra zebra Zebra ζέβρα cebra seepra zèbre zebra zebra シマウマ 얼룩말 zebra sebra zebra zebra зебра zebra ม้าลาย zebra ngựa vằn 斑马
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
References in classic literature ?
Pretty soon a zebra was seen coming out of the forest, and he trotted straight up to them and said politely:
A KANGAROO hopping awkwardly along with some bulky object concealed in her pouch met a Zebra, and desirous of keeping his attention upon himself, said:
A tail dangled to his ankles behind him, and in one hand he carried a zebra's tail while the other clutched a bunch of small arrows.
I once saw a mule with its legs so much striped that any one at first would have thought that it must have been the product of a zebra; and Mr.
Yet Numa did not permit himself to be carried away by his desires into any premature charge such as had recently lost him the juicy meat of Pacco, the zebra. Increasing his gait but slightly he followed the tortuous windings of the trail until suddenly just before him, where the trail wound about the bole of a huge tree, he saw a young buck moving slowly ahead of him.
Presently he dipped a zebra's tail into the brew, and with further mutterings and incantations sprinkled a few drops of the liquid over the baby's face.
Dorothy was too dazed to say much, but she watched one of Jim's big ears turn to violet and the other to rose, and wondered that his tail should be yellow and his body striped with blue and orange like the stripes of a zebra. Then she looked at Zeb, whose face was blue and whose hair was pink, and gave a little laugh that sounded a bit nervous.
Beyond, grazing herds of zebra, hartebeest, and topi dotted the level landscape, while closer to the river a bull buffalo, his head and shoulders protruding from the reeds watched the advancing blacks for a moment, only to turn at last and disappear into the safety of his dank and gloomy retreat.
Here, in the open spaces, were new game--countless antelope and vast herds of zebra. Tarzan was entranced--he would make a long visit to this new world.
When we came down to drink I knew that no danger lurked near upon this side of the water hole, for else the zebras would have discovered it and fled before we came; but upon the other side toward which the wind blows danger might lie concealed.
He noticed, at the lintels of the door, some rabbits' tails and zebras' manes, suspended as talismans.
They were attracted by this idea; so it was not long before they were stripped, and striped from head to heel with black mud, like so many zebras -- all of them chiefs, of course -- and then they went tearing through the woods to attack an English settlement.