zines

IPA/ziːn/
KK[zˈaɪnz]IPA/ziːn/

zines — noun

  • zinessingular
  • zinesesplural

1. A small booklet or magazine put together by hand by an individual or a handful o

1.nounC1
Definition

A small booklet or magazine put together by hand by an individual or a handful of friends who want to express their personal interests, ideas, or creativity, usually produced with simple tools and in limited copies.

Example

Sahil traded zines about rock climbing with fans from three different countries.

collocation: zines about [topic]

The library keeps a shelf where people leave their zines for others to read.

Common collocations
  • create / make / produce a zine
  • publish / print a zine
  • trade / swap / exchange zines
  • zine about [topic]
  • zine fair / zine festival
  • zine culture / zine community
Synonyms
  • fanzine

    More specific — refers to zines made by fans of a particular interest, especially in music, comics, or pop culture.

  • pamphlet

    Broader and more formal — usually a text-only booklet with a political, religious, or informational purpose, not the creative/DIY spirit of a zine.

  • underground magazine

    Suggests a strong counter-cultural or politically radical focus, while a general zine can be about any hobby or interest.

Antonyms
  • mainstream magazine

    A commercially produced, widely distributed magazine made by a professional team, as opposed to a self-published zine.

Usage Note

The singular form 'zine' is also very common. Zines are usually distributed informally — at meet-ups, indie bookshops, or by mail — rather than sold in mainstream stores.

Common Mistakes

I bought a zine magazine at the fair.
I bought a zine at the fair.
'Zine' already means a small magazine, so adding 'magazine' is redundant.
She published a zines about music.
She published a zine about music.
'Zines' is the plural form; use 'zine' for a single publication.

Word family

  • zine
    nounC1
  • fanzine
    nounC1
  • zinester
    nounC2
  • zine-making
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe short, low-cost publications, but they differ in scope and connotation. 'Zine' is the broadest term: any self-published booklet about a personal interest, from poetry to politics to stamp-collecting. 'Fanzine' narrows the meaning to publications created by fans for fans, typically centred on a musician, TV show, comic series, or sports team — the word blends 'fan' with 'magazine'. 'Pamphlet' is more neutral and formal: a small stapled or folded document used to convey information or an argument, often political or religious, with little room for creative design. 'Underground magazine' suggests a politically radical or counter-cultural publication from the 1960s–70s, stronger in tone and more oppositional than a typical hobby zine. For example, a teenager sharing hand-drawn comics about their cat would make a zine, while a group protesting a local policy might distribute a pamphlet, and fans of a 90s indie band would publish a fanzine.

zine ↗fanzinepamphlet ↗underground magazine

Common collocations

Nouns

Prepositions

Etymology

EnglishFrench (magazine)Italian (magazzino)Arabic (makhāzin, 'storehouses')

The word 'zine' is a clipped form of 'magazine' (or originally 'fanzine'), first appearing in English in the 1940s among science-fiction fan communities, where enthusiasts produced their own short-run publications. It became much more widespread during the punk and alternative culture movements of the 1970s and 1980s, when low-cost photocopying made it easy for anyone to create and distribute their own small magazine.

First known use

1946

1946, in the meaning defined above