Meaning & use
zine
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Meaning
nouncountableinformal
A small, self-published booklet or magazine, often photocopied by hand, about a personal or niche interest.
Grammar: Countable noun: one zine, many zines.
Patterns
- make a zine
- publish a zine about something
She stapled together a zine about her favorite punk bands.
Our library has a shelf of local zines.
He sold his hand-drawn zine at a street market.
Word forms
| plural | zines |
|---|
Common combinations
- make a zine
- We made a zine about urban gardening.
- zine fair
- The zine fair attracted hundreds of artists.
- photocopied zine
- He passed out a photocopied zine at the show.
- self-published zine
- Her self-published zine became a small cult hit.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fanzine
- Fanzine is the longer original term, usually about being a fan of a band or sport, where zine can cover any topic.
- newsletter
- A newsletter is regular and informational, while a zine is creative and personal.
- pamphlet
- A pamphlet usually argues a cause or informs, whereas a zine is a more personal creative object.
- magazine
- Magazine suggests professional publishing and wide sales, which a zine usually lacks.
Word family
Commonly confused: zine or zeen?
zine vs zeen
This is a respelling of the sound; the correct spelling is zine.
Practice
She photocopied and stapled the pages herself to make a ______ about her neighborhood.
Choose one answer.
A zine is a small self-made publication, which matches the handmade process. A textbook or professional journal would not be photocopied and stapled by hand.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “zine”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.