zebra
Pluralzebra, zebras
- 1A wild African mammal related to the horse, with a coat of black and white stripes.
A lone zebra grazed at the edge of the watering hole.
On the savanna, zebras often travel alongside wildebeest for safety.
Note
The name may have meant "horse" before it meant stripes. English has had it since about 1600, taken from Italian, which took it from Portuguese. Old Galician-Portuguese used it for a wild ass, and the trail may end in Latin equiferus, "wild horse," from equus and ferus. Zoologists apply it to three species: Equus grevyi, E. quagga and E. zebra.
- 2A pedestrian crossing marked by broad white stripes painted across the road, where walkers have the right of way.
A driver must stop when someone steps onto the zebra.
They painted a new zebra outside the station to slow the traffic.
UsageShort for zebra crossing. You step onto the zebra and stop at it.
Note
In Mick Herron's Slow Horses (2010), a character is honked at "on a zebra."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Mick Herron wrote Slow Horses. sohopress.com
- Slow Horses was first published in 2010. openlibrary.org
- The novel describes a character being honked at, using the exact words 'on a zebra'. en.wiktionary.org
- 3A sports referee or game official who enforces the rules of play.
The zebra waved off the touchdown after reviewing the play.
Both coaches argued with the zebras over the final call.
UsageOften plural: argue with the zebras. In neutral or formal writing, say referee or official.
Similarreferee, ref, official, umpire
Note
Fans and players use this word for the officials, not the rulebook. Because it is slang, it can carry a jab when someone disputes a ruling.
Less common meanings
- 4An unlikely diagnosis, especially one proposed for symptoms that a common ailment more probably explains.
She warned the residents not to reach for a zebra before ruling out the obvious.
Before chasing a zebra, the team ruled out the common infections that usually cause these symptoms.
UsageCommon in chase a zebra. Talk among doctors; in a chart or paper, rare diagnosis is safer.
Note
Clinical slang built on a teaching maxim: when you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras. The horse is the common cause and the zebra the exotic one. Calling a diagnosis a zebra is usually a caution to rule out the ordinary explanation first.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- The medical sense derives from advice given to medical students about horses and zebras. en.wiktionary.org
- The maxim has the wording given in the item. en.wiktionary.org
- The maxim contrasts common explanations with rare ones. en.wiktionary.org
- 5A derogatory term for a biracial person, specifically one born to a Sub-Saharan African parent and a white parent.
Growing up, she was taunted as a zebra by neighbors who disapproved of her parents' marriage.
The coach benched two players for calling a biracial teammate a zebra.
UsageTo describe someone's racial background, use mixed-race or biracial.
Note
An ethnic slur aimed at people with one Black African parent and one white parent. It plays on the animal's black-and-white coat. It is a taunt of the kind thrown at a light-skinned, mixed-race child at school. It is never a neutral label, though some mixed-race people have taken it up for themselves.
- 6Someone living with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or with hypermobility spectrum disorder.
- 7A small striped Central American cichlid (Amatitlania nigrofasciata) commonly kept in freshwater aquariums.
- 8Any of various black-and-white swallowtail butterflies of the genus Graphium found in South and Southeast Asia, such as the lesser zebra.
Practice
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Origin
Attested by 1598, zebra was borrowed from Italian zebra, from Portuguese zebra or zebro, from Old Galician-Portuguese words meaning 'wild ass'. These may trace back through Vulgar Latin to Latin equiferus ('wild horse'), from equus ('horse') plus ferus ('wild').
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- English zebra is attested by 1598: Linschoten's English translation uses it on page 207, before 1600. upload.wikimedia.org
- English borrowed zebra from Italian zebra, which came from Portuguese zebra or zebro. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin equiferus means 'wild horse'. en.wiktionary.org
- Equiferus is formed from equus, meaning 'horse', and ferus, meaning 'wild'. en.wiktionary.org