zoo

/zu:/

Thân thiện

A family walks past the lion enclosure at the zoo.

Definition

Noun: 1. A place where live animals are kept for public exhibition and study: A zoo is a facility, often a park or garden, where a collection of wild animals is housed in enclosures, cared for, and displayed to visitors. Its primary purposes are conservation, education, and recreation. 2. A situation characterized by confusion, noise, or disorder (informal, figurative): Informally, "zoo" can describe a place or situation that is chaotic, noisy, and uncontrolled, much like the perceived atmosphere of an animal enclosure.

Usage and Examples

• Noun (Primary Meaning):

  • We took the children to the zoo to see the lions and elephants.
  • The city zoo has a successful breeding program for endangered pandas.
  • He works as a veterinarian at the local zoo.

• Noun (Informal/Figurative Meaning):

  • The school cafeteria at lunchtime is a complete zoo.
  • With three toddlers running around, my house is a zoo every morning.

Advanced Usage

• "Like a zoo": Used as a simile to emphasize chaos.
  • The department store on Black Friday was like a zoo.

Variants and Related Words

• Zoological garden: The formal, full name for a zoo.
• Menagerie: A historical term for a collection of wild animals kept in captivity for exhibition.
• Wildlife park / Safari park: A type of zoo where animals roam in larger, more open enclosures, and visitors often drive through.

Synonyms

• (For the facility): Animal park, zoological garden, wildlife center.
• (For the figurative meaning): Madhouse, circus, chaos, bedlam.

Idioms and Common Phrases

• It's a zoo in here!: A common exclamation to describe a very chaotic and noisy situation.
  • When the power went out, the office was a zoo.

Học thuật

Noun

1. the facility where wild animals are housed for exhibition

Từ đồng nghĩa

• menagerie
• zoological garden