zest
/zɛst/noun, verb
zest is spelled Z-E-S-T: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, zest means “The outer skin of a citrus fruit, used as a flavouring or garnish” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of zest is zests.
How many letters and syllables are in zest?
| Letters | 4: Z-E-S-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 22,651st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is zest?
Zest appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st 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 zest?
- /zɛst/
Zest has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-zest.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-zest.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of zest
- zests plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- zesting participle, present
- zested participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does zest mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The outer skin of a citrus fruit, used as a flavouring or garnish.
The orange zest gives the strong flavor in this dish.
- 2
General vibrance of flavour.
I add zest to the meat by rubbing it with a spice mixture before grilling.
- 3
Enthusiasm; keen enjoyment; exciting and interesting; relish or gusto; a state of being zesty.
Auntie Mame had a real zest for life.
- 4
rareThe woody, thick skin enclosing the kernel of a walnut.
- 5
derogatoryslangState of being a flamboyant or effeminate homosexual.
verb
- 1
To scrape the zest from a fruit.
- 2
To make more zesty.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Zest in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | entrain , zeste |
| German | Lust, Freude, Begeisterung, Genuss , Würze, Zeste |
| Portuguese | entusiasmo, gana |
| Spanish | brío , ralladura, cáscara, peladura , pluma |
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 zest come from?
Borrowed from French zeste.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).