Meaning & use
zebra
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Meaning
nouncountable
An African wild animal like a horse, with black and white stripes.
Grammar: The plural is usually zebras, but zebra is also used for a group or herd.
Patterns
- a herd of zebra
- zebra crossing
We saw a herd of zebra on the safari.
The zebra has a unique pattern of stripes.
Zebras are related to horses and donkeys.
Word forms
| plural | zebras |
|---|---|
| plural (collective) | zebra |
Common combinations
- zebra crossing
- Always cross at the zebra crossing.
- herd of zebra
- A herd of zebra grazed near the river.
- zebra stripes
- The car had zebra stripes painted on it.
- zebra mussel
- Zebra mussels are an invasive species in many lakes.
Word family
- zebrine adjective
- Relating to or resembling a zebra; rare.
Commonly confused: zebra or zeal? zebra or zebu?
zebra vs zeal
Zeal means great enthusiasm; zebra is the animal. They are not related.
zebra vs zebu
A zebu is a type of cattle with a hump, found in Asia and Africa; a zebra is a striped wild horse.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
Option C is correct because 'a zebra' is a countable noun and the sentence is natural. Option An is wrong because 'zebra' with 'are' is not standard unless using the collective plural, which is less common. Option B has a subject-verb agreement issue: 'a herd' is singular, so it should be 'is grazing'. Option D is factually wrong.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “zebra”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.