zoom

See also: Zoom

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zuːm/, enPR: zo͞om

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːm

Etymology 1

Uncertain. The verb was attested in 1892, noun in 1918 and interjection in 1942. Apparently related to Scots soom (“to buzz, hum”), dialectal English and Scots soom, swoom, sweem (“to spin or twirl at high speed”). Compare also dialectal English sweem (“to swoon, become dizzy or faint”).

Noun

zoom (plural zooms)

1. A humming noise from something moving very fast.

   the zoom of traffic

2. (figurative) A quick ascent.
3. (figurative) A big increase.
4. An augmentation of a view, by varying the focal length of a lens, or digitally.

   What's the zoom like on your camera?

Derived terms

• crash zoom
• dolly zoom
• snap zoom
• whip zoom
• zoom bag
• zoom blur
• zoom box
• zoom in on

 

Translations

humming noise from something moving very fast

• Bulgarian: бръмчене n (brǎmčene)
• Danish: brummen c
• Finnish: suhahdus (fi)
• French: vrombissement (fr) m, sifflement (fr)
• Galician: zoada f, zoeira f, zunido (gl) m, balbor m, balbordo m, chío m, zóo m, burbia f, abouxada (gl) f
• Georgian: ბზუილი (bzuili), ზუზუნი (zuzuni), გუგუნი (guguni)
• German: Brummen (de) n, brummendes Geräusch n
• Indonesian: ngung (id)
• Italian: rombo (it) m, rintrono (it) m, fragore (it) m, rimbombo (it) m, boato (it) m
• Navajo: ts’iziil
• Portuguese: zumbido (pt) m
• Russian: жужжа́ние (ru) n (žužžánije), гуде́ние (ru) n (gudénije), гул (ru) m (gul)
• Spanish: zumbido (es) m

quick ascent

• Bulgarian: рязко изкачяане n (rjazko izkačjaane)
• Finnish: nopea nousu
• Galician: suba f
• Georgian: ციცაბო აღმართი (cicabo aɣmarti)
• German: schneller Aufstieg m
• Indonesian: mencuat (id)
• Italian: cabrata (it) f, impennata (it) f, salita (it) f

big increase

• Bulgarian: увеличение (bg) n (uveličenie)
• Finnish: räjähdys (fi)
• Galician: medra f, crécima f
• German: Vergrößerung (de) f
• Indonesian: membesar (id)
• Italian: ingrandimento (it) m

augmentation of a view

• Bulgarian: уголемяване на част от екрана n (ugolemjavane na čast ot ekrana)
• Finnish: zoomaus, suurennus (fi), lähennys
• Galician: cremento m, arrequento m, acrescemento m
• Georgian: გადიდება (gadideba)
• German: Vergrößerung (de) f
• Hebrew: זום (he) (zum)
• Hungarian: zoom (hu)
• Indonesian: keker (id), zum (id), fokus (id)
• Italian: zumata (it) f, ingrandimento (it) m
• Malay: zum (ms)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: zoom (no) m

  Nynorsk: zoom m

• Polish: zoom (pl) m, obiektyw zmiennoogniskowy (pl) m
• Portuguese: zoom (pt) m
• Russian: зум (ru) m (zum)
• Spanish: zoom m, aumento (es) m, sum (es) m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} zoem (nl) m (1), ^{(please verify)} zoom (nl) (4)
• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} susurro (1), ^{(please verify)} zoom (4)

Verb

zoom (third-person singular simple present zooms, present participle zooming, simple past and past participle zoomed)

1. To move fast with a humming noise.

   We zoomed along the highway.

   • 1957, Jack Kerouac, On the Road, Viking Press, →OCLC:

     […] and it was strange sitting in their brand-new comfortable car and hearing them talk of exams as we zoomed smoothly into town.

2. (aviation) To zoom climb.
3. To move rapidly.
4. To go up sharply.

   prices zoomed

5. (photography) To change the focal length of a zoom lens.
6. To manipulate a display so as to magnify or shrink it.

   to zoom in or zoom out

7. (transitive) To check someone out; to investigate someone that one is interested in.
   • 1990 December 16, Chris Nealon, quoting Al Cunningham, “Essence Magazine Agrees To Run Gay Advertisement”, in Gay Community News, volume 18, number 22, page 13:

     "It boggles my mind what kind of mentality is at work there." He pointed to two recent issues of the magazine that featured cover stories were about Whitney Houston and Luther Vandross, two pop music icons whose sexual orientations have been widely speculated on in Black lesbian and gay communities. "It makes you wonder if it's an insult to the intelligence of Essence’s lesbian and gay leadership," Cunningham said. "Who's really zooming whom here?"

Derived terms

Derived terms

• zoom by
• zoom climb, zoom-climb
• zoom in
• zoom lens
• zoom out
• zoomy

Descendants

• → Dutch: zoomen
• → Finnish: zoomata
• → French: zoomer
• → German: zoomen
• → Italian: zoomare
• → Norwegian Bokmål: zoome

Translations

to move very fast with a humming noise

• Bulgarian: бръмча (bg) (brǎmča)
• Dutch: zoeven (nl)
• Finnish: suhahtaa
• German: schwirren (de), surren (de)
• Portuguese: zumbir (pt)
• Russian: жужжа́ть (ru) (žužžátʹ), гуде́ть (ru) (gudétʹ), издава́ть гул (izdavátʹ gul)
• Spanish: zumbar (es)

to fly an airplane straight up

• Bulgarian: издигам се рязко (izdigam se rjazko)
• Finnish: nousta suoraan ylös
• French: cabrer (fr)
• German: schwirren (de)
• Italian: cabrare (it)

to move rapidly

• Finnish: syöksyä (fi)
• German: schwirren (de)
• Japanese: (colloquial) 猛スピードで進む (mōsupīdo de susumu)
• Maori: topa
• Swedish: for (sv), rusade (sv)

to go up sharply

• Finnish: räjähtää (fi)
• German: schwirren (de)
• Swedish: rusade (sv), sköt iväg

to change the focal length of a zoom lens

• Arabic: كَبَّرَ (ar) (kabbara) (zoom in), قَرَّبَ (qarraba) (zoom in), صَغَّرَ (ar) (ṣaḡḡara) (zoom out), بَعَّدَ (ar) (baʕʕada) (zoom out)
• Bulgarian: уголемявам (bg) (ugolemjavam)
• Finnish: zoomata (fi), suurentaa (fi) (zoom in), pienentää (fi) (zoom out)
• German: zoomen (de)
• Indonesian: zum (id)
• Italian: zoomare
• Marathi: जूम करणे (jūm karṇe)
• Portuguese: dar zoom
• Romanian: zooma
• Russian: увели́чить (ru) pf (uvelíčitʹ) (zoom in), уме́ньшить (ru) pf (uménʹšitʹ) (zoom out)
• Spanish: enfocar (es)
• Turkish: zoom yapmak, zoomlamak

to manipulate a display so as to magnify or shrink it

• Bulgarian: уголемявам част от екрана (ugolemjavam čast ot ekrana)
• Finnish: zoomata (fi), suurentaa (fi) (zoom in), lähentää (fi) (zoom in), pienentää (fi) (zoom out), loitontaa (fi) (zoom out)
• Hungarian: zoomol, ráközelít (hu)
• Icelandic: þysja
• Indonesian: zum (id)
• Portuguese: dar zoom
• Swedish: zooma (sv), förstora (sv), förminska (sv)
• Turkish: büyütmek (tr), yakınlaştırmak (tr), zoom yapmak, zoomlamak
• Vietnamese: thu phóng

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} zoeven (nl) (1), ^{(please verify)} zoemen (nl) (4)
• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} mover se rapidemente (1); ^{(please verify)} focalisar con zoom (4)

Interjection

zoom

1. Representing a humming sound
   • 1918, Annie Vivanti Chartres, The Outrage, page 196:

     Makowsky was playing the Bassgeige. Zoom... zoom-zoom.... The rest of the orchestra would join in presently.

2. Suggesting something moving quickly
   • 1939, Henry Miller, Tropic of Capricorn, Grove Press, published 1962, page 244:

     I would dance a few light fantastic steps to show which way the wind lay, and zoom! Like a breeze I was on the piano stool and doing a velocity exercise.

3. Suggesting a sudden change, especially an improvement or an increase

Etymology 2

Genericization of the trademark Zoom, a video teleconferencing software.

Verb

zoom (third-person singular simple present zooms, present participle zooming, simple past and past participle zoomed)

1. To participate in a video teleconferencing call.

Noun

zoom (plural zooms)

1. A video teleconferencing call.
   • 2022 September 27, Barclay Bram, “My Therapist, the Robot”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     Then, later that day, I logged onto a zoom call and my mother and I set up our yoga mats in the living room, as we had been doing a couple of times a week during the pandemic.

Derived terms

• zoomed (adj.)
• zoomer
• zooming (n.)

 

Anagrams

• Mozo, mozo

Dutch

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch sôom, from Old Dutch *sōm, from Proto-West Germanic *saum, from Proto-Germanic *saumaz (“that which is sewn”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zoːm/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: zoom
• Rhymes: -oːm

Noun

zoom m (plural zomen, diminutive zoompje n)

1. edge, border
2. hem (border of a cloth that is turned around and stitched)

Derived terms

• Bergen op Zoom
• zomen

Descendants

• Negerhollands: soom
• → Caribbean Javanese: sum
• → Indonesian: som

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English zoom.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zuːm/
• Hyphenation: zoom

Noun

zoom m (plural zooms)

1. zoom (augmentation of a view)

Related terms

• zoomen

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation 1

• IPA^(key): /zoːm/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: zoom
• Rhymes: -oːm

Verb

zoom

1. inflection of zomen:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

Pronunciation 2

• IPA^(key): /zuːm/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: zoom

Verb

zoom

1. inflection of zoomen:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English zoom.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zum/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophone: zooms
• Hyphenation: zoom

Noun

zoom m (plural zooms)

1. (photography) zoom

Derived terms

• zoomer

Further reading

• “zoom”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zuːm/

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

zoom

1. singular imperative of zoomen
2. (colloquial) first-person singular present of zoomen

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English zoom.

Noun

zoom m (invariable)

1. (photography) zoom

Related terms

• zoomare
• zoomata

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

zoom

1. imperative of zoome

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• zum (rare)

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English zoom.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈzũ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈzum/

Noun

zoom m (plural zooms)

1. zoom (augmentation of an image)
2. (photography) zoom lens (lens whose focal length can be rapidly changed)

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English zoom.

Noun

zoom n (plural zoomuri)

1. zoom

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	zoom	zoomul		zoomuri	zoomurile
genitive-dative	zoom	zoomului		zoomuri	zoomurilor
vocative	zoomule			zoomurilor

Slovak

Etymology

Borrowed from English zoom.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zuːm/

Noun

zoom m inan (genitive singular zoomu, declension pattern of dub)

1. (photography) zoom

Declension

Declension of zoom

	singulare tantum
nominative	zoom
genitive	zoomu
dative	zoomu
accusative	zoom
locative	zoome
instrumental	zoomom

Related terms

• zoomový

Spanish

Noun

zoom m (plural zooms)

1. (photography) zoom