Zui·der Zee (z??d?r z??, z??, zoi?d?r z??) A former shallow inlet of the North Sea in northeast Netherlands. Originally a lake, it was joined with the North Sea by heavy flooding. A dike, completed in 1932, turned the southern section into the Ijsselmeer, which has largely been reclaimed for agriculture.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.Zuider Zee (?za?d? ?zi?; Dutch ?z?id?r ?ze?) or Zuyder Zeen (Placename) a former inlet of the North Sea in the N coast of the Netherlands sealed off from the sea by a dam in 1932, dividing it into the Waddenzee and the freshwater IJsselmeer, with several large reclaimed areasCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014Zui?der Zee (?za? d?r ?ze?, ?zi) n. a former shallow inlet of the North Sea in the central Netherlands. Compare IJsselmeer. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.