Dictionary
Find
in
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Translations

Click to move up the list of words
Z line
Z particle
Z-plasty
Z score
za
zabaglione
Zacharias
zaddik
Zadokite
zaffer
zaftig
zag
zaibatsu
zaikai
zaïre
zakat
zakuski
Click to move down the list of words
Print Preview
See pronunciation key
Search for "z" in all of MSN Encarta
E-mail this entry
Download the MSN Encarta Right-Click Dictionary

z (1)

z [ zed ] or Z


noun  (plural z's) (plural Z's or Zs)
Definition:
 
1. 26th letter of English alphabet: the 26th and final letter of the English alphabet, representing a consonant sound

2. letter 'z' written: a written representation of the letter 'z'



plural noun z's 
Definition:
 
sleep: sleep, from the traditional transcription of the sound of snoring ( informal )
I need to catch some z's.


Regional History

Words beginning with z are rare in British dialects. Indeed, the letter is often pronounced 'a-zed', and words such as zip and zoo are often pronounced 'azip' and 'azoo'. The exception to this generalization is southwestern England, where we find zart used as an oath, and zawster and zichel used for 'seamstress' and 'suchlike'.

Advertisement

Also on Encarta
Also on MSN
Encarta Message Boards (© Rubberball/Jupiterimages)
Encarta RSS Feeds
© 2008 Microsoft