zebu
ze·bu/ˈziː.b(j)uː/noun
zebu is spelled Z-E-B-U: 4 letters and 2 syllables (ze·bu). It appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 122,704th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, zebu means “A domesticated ox native to Asia and Africa, having a large fleshy hump on its back and a dewlap (Bos taurus indicus or bos indicus)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of zebu is zebus.
How many letters and syllables are in zebu?
| Letters | 4: Z-E-B-U |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: ze·bu |
| In writing | about once in every 17 million words; the 122,704th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is zebu?
Zebu appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 122,704th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce zebu?
- UK /ˈziː.b(j)uː/
- UK /ˈzɛ.b(j)uː/
- UK /ˈzeɪ.b(j)uː/
Zebu has 2 syllables, split ze·bu in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-zebu1.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-zebu2.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-zebu3.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of zebu
- zebus plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does zebu mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A domesticated ox native to Asia and Africa, having a large fleshy hump on its back and a dewlap (Bos taurus indicus or bos indicus).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Zebu in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Bos taurus indicus:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does zebu come from?
Borrowed from French zébu, probably from Tibetan མཛོ་པོ (mdzo po, “male bull–yak hybrid”), whence also zobo.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).