Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Zebra for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.
Narrator: Today's word is "Zebra" — noun, pronounced /ˈzebrə/, with the stress on "ze".
Narrator: A zebra is a wild African animal like a horse, with black and white stripes.
Narrator: In plain English, it is a stripy horse.
Narrator: It comes from Portuguese zebra, a wild ass.
Narrator: A common collocation is "zebra crossing", which describes a striped road crossing in Britain.
Narrator: It differs from "horse", because zebras are wild and have never been fully domesticated.
Narrator: In a second sense, doctors say "think horses, not zebras", meaning consider common causes first.
Narrator: Wildlife, road safety, medicine and design all rely on the word.
Narrator: So remember: a zebra wears stripes.
Speaker A: Why is it called a zebra crossing?
Speaker B: Its stripes look like a ZEBRA! From Portuguese zebra.
Speaker A: Black and white?
Speaker B: Exactly.
Speaker A: Example sentences?
Speaker B: "Zebras graze on the savanna", nature. "Cross at the zebra crossing", road safety. "Every zebra's stripes are unique", science.
Speaker A: Common mistakes?
Speaker B: British English says "ZEB-ruh", American often "ZEE-bruh".
Speaker A: Close relatives?
Speaker B: Horse is its cousin, donkey its twin, and okapi an alternative — yet zebra keeps its striped charm!
Speaker B: Let's use "zebra" in AI prompts — useful for wildlife education and road safety.
Speaker A: How for wildlife?
Speaker B: Facts.
Prompt: Write five surprising zebra facts for eight-year-olds.
Speaker A: And road safety?
Speaker B: Lessons.
Prompt: Explain how to use a zebra crossing safely for young children.
Speaker A: Could it help design?
Speaker B: Yes, for tables.
Prompt: Add zebra striping to alternate rows in this HTML table.
Speaker A: One more?
Speaker B: Science.
Prompt: Summarise theories about why zebras have stripes.
Zebra — meaning in Arabic & definition More Z courses GL Dictionary