ZIP (zipped, zipping)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: zipped    , zipping   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does ZIP mean? 

• ZIP (noun)
  The noun ZIP has 4 senses:

1. a quantity of no importance

2. a code of letters and digits added to a postal address to aid in the sorting of mail

3. forceful exertion

4. a fastener for locking together two toothed edges by means of a sliding tab

  Familiarity information: ZIP used as a noun is uncommon.

• ZIP (verb)
  The verb ZIP has 2 senses:

1. close with a zipper

2. move very fast

  Familiarity information: ZIP used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ZIP (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A quantity of no importance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

aught; cipher; cypher; goose egg; nada; naught; nil; nix; nothing; null; zero; zilch; zip; zippo

Context example:

I didn't hear zilch about it

Hypernyms ("zip" is a kind of...):

relative quantity (a quantity relative to some purpose)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "zip"):

nihil ((Latin) nil; nothing (as used by a sheriff after an unsuccessful effort to serve a writ))

bugger all; Fanny Adams; fuck all; sweet Fanny Adams (little or nothing at all)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A code of letters and digits added to a postal address to aid in the sorting of mail

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

postal code; postcode; ZIP; ZIP code

Hypernyms ("ZIP" is a kind of...):

code (a coding system used for transmitting messages requiring brevity or secrecy)

Holonyms ("ZIP" is a part of...):

address; destination; name and address (written directions for finding some location; written on letters or packages that are to be delivered to that location)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Forceful exertion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

energy; vigor; vigour; zip

Context example:

he's full of zip

Hypernyms ("zip" is a kind of...):

force; forcefulness; strength (physical energy or intensity)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "zip"):

athleticism; strenuosity (intense energy)

Derivation:

zippy (quick and energetic)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A fastener for locking together two toothed edges by means of a sliding tab

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

slide fastener; zip; zip fastener; zipper

Hypernyms ("zip" is a kind of...):

fastener; fastening; fixing; holdfast (restraint that attaches to something or holds something in place)

Holonyms ("zip" is a part of...):

cardigan (knitted jacket that is fastened up the front with buttons or a zipper)

dress; frock (a one-piece garment for a woman; has skirt and bodice)

skirt (a garment hanging from the waist; worn mainly by girls and women)

pair of trousers; pant; trousers ((usually in the plural) a garment extending from the waist to the knee or ankle, covering each leg separately)

Derivation:

zip (close with a zipper)

• ZIP (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they zip    ... he / she / it zips   
Past simple: zipped   
Past participle: zipped   
-ing form: zipping   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Close with a zipper

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

zip; zip up; zipper

Context example:

Zip up your jacket--it's cold

Hypernyms (to "zip" is one way to...):

fasten; fix; secure (cause to be firmly attached)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

zip; zipper (a fastener for locking together two toothed edges by means of a sliding tab)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Move very fast

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

hurry; speed; travel rapidly; zip

Context example:

The runner zipped past us at breakneck speed

Hypernyms (to "zip" is one way to...):

go; locomote; move; travel (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "zip"):

dart; fleet; flit; flutter (move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart)

run (move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time)

whizz; whizz along; zoom; zoom along (move along very quickly)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP

 Context examples 

Comet 252P/LINEAR, approximately 750 feet (230 meters) in size, will zip past Earth on Monday, March 21 at a range of about 3.3 million miles (5.2 million kilometers).

(A 'Tail' of Two Comets, NASA)

This idea suggests that dark matter particles are fast moving, zipping along too quickly to merge and form smaller concentrations.

(Cosmic Magnifying Glasses Find Dark Matter in Small Clumps, NASA)

NASA's Cassini spacecraft will zip past Saturn's moon Dione on Monday, Aug. 17, the final close flyby of this icy satellite during the spacecraft's long mission.

(Cassini to Make Last Close Flyby of Saturn Moon Dione, NASA)

As Alleyne stooped to raise him, the air seemed to be alive with the sharp zip-zip of the bolts, and he could hear them pattering on the deck like apples at a tree-shaking.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

An open source lossless data compression algorithm that compresses most files more effectively than the more traditional gzip or ZIP, but is slower.

(bzip2 Algorithm, NCI Thesaurus)

At first their bullets zipped harmlessly along the surface of the water on either side the boat; but, as the men continued to pull lustily, they struck closer and closer.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

When comet 45P zipped past Earth early in 2017, researchers observing from NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility, or IRTF, in Hawai’i gave the long-time trekker a thorough astronomical checkup.

(NASA Telescope Studies Quirky Comet 45P, NASA)

The spacecraft zipped through this region at speeds of about 77,000 mph (124,000 kph) relative to the planet, so small particles hitting a sensitive area could potentially have disabled the spacecraft.

(Cassini Spacecraft Dives Between Saturn and Its Rings, NASA)

The MAX gene encodes a bHLH/ZIP protein that forms a heterodimer with MYC and binds with high affinity to a DNA site in the MYC gene and DDX18, a DEAD box family member.

(Oncogene MAX, NCI Thesaurus)

As a typical star moves further along into adulthood, it loses some zip due to the copious emission of charged particles known as a stellar wind (in our solar system, we call this the solar wind).

(Kepler Watches Stellar Dancers in the Pleiades Cluster, NASA)