Words that start with Z

A zigzag is a line that keeps changing direction, backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards, in a regular way. A lot of socks have zigzag patterns on them.

Zimbabwe is a country in Africa. It is inland, with no coast. The capital of Zimbabwe is Harare.

Zinc is a hard, brittle metal. It is most commonly used mixed with other metals to make alloys like brass, and as a coating on other metals to stop them rusting. Zinc stops other metals rusting because when it is attached to another metal it will rust before that other metal does. The other metal will then start to rust when all the zinc is gone.

Metal that is coated with zinc is called galvanized. If you look closely at galvanised metal you can see the zinc crystals.

A zinnia is a bright, pretty flower originally from Mexico, and are often found in people's gardens. They come in a wide variety of different colors and shapes depending on their type. They like full sun and fertile, well-drained soil.

A zip is a device that keeps your clothes closed. It is made from two strips of tiny teeth and a slider that meshes the teeth together when you zip it up and unmeshes them when you unzip it.

Zips are found on many, many kinds of clothing. Before zippers were so popular, people used buttons to keep clothes closed.

A zither is a stringed musical instrument that has a lot of strings like a harp but is flat, not vertical. It is found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, some parts of Germany and China.

A zombie, or living dead, is a dead body that can move around because of some form of magic. Zombies are typically very unfriendly and want to go around killing and eating people, particularly their brains. Zombies are frequently seen in horror movies and computer games.

A zone is an area that is clearly different from other areas around it.

An example might be a dry zone, where people are not allowed to drink alcoholic drinks.

A zoo, or zoological gardens, is a place where many different kinds of animals are kept in cages so that people can come and look at them. In modern zoos, the cages are very big and very close to the environment the animals originally came from.

A zookeeper is someone who looks after zoo animals, by feeding them and keeping their cages clean.