zigzag

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

Also spelled zig-zag

US /ˈzɪɡ.zæɡ/ See IPA manual

Freq #33346

Meanings

1

adv
in a zigzag course or on a zigzag path

Birds flew zigzag across the blue sky.
2

verb
travel along a zigzag path

The river zigzags through the countryside.
3

noun
A line or path that proceeds by sharp turns in alternating directions.

She had just succeeded in curving it down into a graceful zigzag, and was going to dive in among the leaves, which she found to be nothing but the tops of the trees under which she had been wandering, when a sharp hiss made her draw back in a hurry: […].
4

adj
Moving in, or having a zigzag.

The entrance to this ancient place of devotion was under a very low round arch, ornamented by several courses of that zig-zag moulding, resembling shark's teeth, which appears so often in the more ancient Saxon churches.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 verb · travel along a zigzag path crank

Word family

Forms zig-zaggingzig-zags

Etymology

Attested from 1712. Borrowed from French zigzag (attested from 1662), possibly from a Germanic source via Walloon ziczac (although German Zickzack is attested only from 1703). Also, possibly from the shape of the letter Z, which appears twice in the word. Sense “drunk” from the zigzag movements of a drunk person.

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# zigzag

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adv, verb, noun, adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈzɪɡ.zæɡ/
**Frequency rank:** 33346

## Meanings
1. in a zigzag course or on a zigzag path
2. travel along a zigzag path
3. A line or path that proceeds by sharp turns in alternating directions.
4. Moving in, or having a zigzag.

## Examples
- Birds flew zigzag across the blue sky.
- The river zigzags through the countryside.
- She had just succeeded in curving it down into a graceful zigzag, and was going to dive in among the leaves, which she found to be nothing but the tops of the trees under which she had been wandering, when a sharp hiss made her draw back in a hurry: […].
- The entrance to this ancient place of devotion was under a very low round arch, ornamented by several courses of that zig-zag moulding, resembling shark's teeth, which appears so often in the more ancient Saxon churches.

## Etymology
Attested from 1712. Borrowed from French zigzag (attested from 1662), possibly from a Germanic source via Walloon ziczac (although German Zickzack is attested only from 1703). Also, possibly from the shape of the letter Z, which appears twice in the word. Sense “drunk” from the zigzag movements of a drunk person.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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