# zoom

> English word · Noun · IPA /zuːm/ · frequency rank #9,276

## Definitions
1. A humming noise from something moving very fast.
2. A quick ascent.
3. A big increase.
4. An augmentation of a view, by varying the focal length of a lens, or digitally.

## Etymology
Uncertain. The verb was first attested c. 1892, as a noun in 1918 and as an interjection in 1942. Apparently related to Scots soom (“to buzz, hum”), dialectal English and Scots soom, swoom, sweem (“to spin or twirl at high speed”). Compare also dialectal English sweem (“to swoon, become dizzy or faint”).

## Easily confused with
- **Zo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/zo-vs-zoom)
- **zoo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/zoo-vs-zoom)
- **Zoe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/zoe-vs-zoom)
- **Zim** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/zim-vs-zoom)
- **zone** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/zone-vs-zoom)
- **Zion** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/zion-vs-zoom)
- **zhou** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/zhou-vs-zoom)
- **zona** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/zona-vs-zoom)
- **Zooey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/zooey-vs-zoom)

## Common misspellings (5)
`ozom`, `zom`, `zomo`, `zoomm`, `zzoom`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/zoom