zookeeper

/ˈzuːkipɚ/

//ˈzuːkipɚ// noun

"zookeeper" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“zookeeper” is uncommon English (frequency #57,190 among 265 “Z” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#57,190
frequency rank, English
265
“Z” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person employed at a zoo to attend to the animals.

Corpus desk

Index EN-zookeeper · zookeeper · English

zookeeper · rank #57,190 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #57,190
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 265
  • PHOTO-FINISH Zoltan

Nearest frequency peer: Zoltan (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “zookeeper”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “zookeeper” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for zookeeper
PropertyValue
Headwordzookeeper
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈzuːkipɚ/
Letters9
Frequency rank#57,190
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “zookeeper” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).zookeeperfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Zoltan” (#57,189), “Yogyakarta” (#57,185), “abbots” (#57,195). Among 265 “Z” headwords, “zookeeper” is #57,190. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

zookeeper is uncommon English at frequency #57,190 among 265 “Z” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈzuːkipɚ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A person employed at a zoo to attend to the animals.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for zookeeper, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From zoo + keeper. The correct English form is zookeeper, spelled Z-O-O-K-E-E-P-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person employed at a zoo to attend to the animals.

Etymology

From zoo + keeper.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "zookeeper"?
"zookeeper" is spelled Z-O-O-K-E-E-P-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈzuːkipɚ/.
What does "zookeeper" mean?
As a noun, "zookeeper" means: A person employed at a zoo to attend to the animals.
How do you pronounce "zookeeper"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "zookeeper" is /ˈzuːkipɚ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "zookeeper"?
From zoo + keeper. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "zookeeper", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list