zoo-(word root) living being, animalExamples of words with the root zoo-: zoometry, zoologicalAbused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embreezoo (zo?o)n. pl. zoos 1. A park or an institution in which living animals are kept and usually exhibited to the public. Also called zoological garden.2. Slang A place or situation marked by confusion or disorder: The bus station is a zoo on Fridays.[Short for zoological garden.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.zoo (zu?) n, pl zoos (Zoology) a place where live animals are kept, studied, bred, and exhibited to the public. Formal term: zoological garden [C19: shortened from zoological gardens (originally applied to those in London)]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014zoo (zu) n., pl. zoos. 1. Also called zoological garden. a parklike area in which live animals are kept in cages or large enclosures for public exhibition. 2. a place, activity, or group marked by chaos or unrestrained behavior. [1840?50; first two syllables of zoological garden taken as one syllable] zoo?ey, adj. zoo?i?er, zoo?i?est. zoo- a combining form meaning ?living being,? ?animal?: zooplankton. Also, esp. before a vowel,zo-. [comb. form representing Greek zôion animal] Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.Zoo a collection of animals; strangely acting persons. [From the Zoological Gardens, London.]Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.