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PlainSpell

zip

/zɪp/noun, interjection, verb

zip is spelled Z-I-P: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 7.4 times per million words in written English, the 8,669th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, zip means “The high-pitched sound of a small object moving rapidly through air” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of zip is zips.

How many letters and syllables are in zip?

Letters3: Z-I-P
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing7.4 times per million words; the 8,669th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone 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 zip?

Zip appears 7.4 times per million words in written English, the 8,669th 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 zip?

  • /zɪp/

Zip 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-zip.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of zip

  • zips plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • zipping participle, present
  • zipped participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does zip mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    The high-pitched sound of a small object moving rapidly through air.

  2. 2

    informalEnergy; vigor; vim.

  3. 3

    CommonwealthIrelandUKA zip fastener.

  4. 4

    slangZero; nothing.

    I know zip about economics.

  5. 5

    A trip on a zipline.

  6. 6

    informalA zip file.

  7. 7

    Synonym of convolution (“a type of mapping function”).

  8. 8

    Synonym of zip zap zop

  9. 9

    Ellipsis of zip code.

interjection

  1. 1

    Imitative of high-pitched sound of a small object moving rapidly through air.

verb

  1. 1

    To close with a zip fastener.

  2. 2

    To close as if with a zip fastener.

    Zip your lip!

  3. 3

    To compress (one or more computer files) into a single and often smaller file, especially one in the ZIP format.

  4. 4

    To subject to the convolution mapping function.

  5. 5

    To move rapidly (in a specified direction or to a specified place) with a high-pitched sound.

    The bullet zipped through the air.

  6. 6

    colloquialTo move in haste (in a specified direction or to a specified place).

    Zip down to the shops for some milk.

  7. 7

    To make (something) move quickly

  8. 8

    To travel on a zipline.

noun

as ZIP
  1. 1

    USA zip code.

  2. 2

    informalA zip file.

noun

as Zip
  1. 1

    USderogatoryslangA Sicilian or Italian Mafioso who is relatively new to the United States.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Zip in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Spanishzumbido (high-pitched sound), brío (energy, vigor, vim), subir el síper, cerrar el riqui (to close with a zip fastener), comprimir (to convert a computer file into a smaller…)
GermanSchwung (energy, vigor, vim), zippen (to convert a computer file into a smaller…)
Frenchcompresser, zipper (to convert a computer file into a smaller…)
Portuguesezipar, compactar, comprimir (to convert a computer file into a smaller…)

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 zip come from?

Onomatopoeic.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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