noun
- an encircling band, stripe, course, etc. distinct in color, texture, structure, etc. from the surrounding medium
- any of the five great latitudinal divisions of the earth's surface, named according to the prevailing climate: see Frigid Zone, Temperate Zone, Torrid Zone
- any area or region considered as separate or distinct from others because of its particular use, crops, plant or animal life, status in time of war, geological features, etc.: a canal zone, cotton zone, demilitarized zone
- ☆
- any section or district in a city restricted by law for a particular use, as for homes, parks, businesses, etc.
- any space along a street or road restricted in a specified way, esp. by traffic regulations: “no parking” zone
- ☆
- any of the numbered sections into which a postal area is divided, as in the ZIP Code system
- any of a series of ring-shaped areas concentric on a given point, each having a different parcel-post rate
- ☆ a district within which a uniform rate is charged, as by a transportation system
- time zone
- Archaic a belt or girdle
- Math. a part of the surface of a sphere lying between two parallel planes that intersect the figure
- Sports any of the areas into which a football field, basketball court, etc. is divided, as for defense
Origin:
Fr < L zona < Gr zōnē, a belt < zōnnynai, to gird < IE *yosmen- < base *yos-, to gird > OSlav pojaśǫ, to gird
transitive verb zoned, zoning
- to mark off or divide into zones; specif.,
- ☆ to divide (a city, etc.) into areas determined by specific restrictions on types of construction, as into residential and business areas
- ☆ to limit to a certain use by designating as or placing in a zone (sense )
- to surround with or as with a belt or zone; encircle
- to mark with bands or stripes