zoology

IPA/zuˈɒlədʒi/
KK[zoˈɑlədʒi]IPA/zuˈɑːlədʒi/

zoology — noun

1. the area of biology that examines animals, including how they are built, live, b

1.nounC1
Definition

the area of biology that examines animals, including how they are built, live, behave, and grow.

Example

Devika chose zoology after spending summers helping at a wildlife rescue center.

choose zoology — field of study

The zoology lecture explained how penguins stay warm in Antarctic storms.

zoology lecture — academic context

Common collocations
  • study zoology
  • zoology class
  • zoology department
  • zoology lecture
Synonyms
  • biology

    broader field that includes plants, cells, and other living things, not only animals.

  • animal science

    often more practical or agricultural in focus than zoology.

  • zoological science

    formal paraphrase used mainly in academic wording.

Antonyms
  • botany

    the matching field that studies plants rather than animals.

Grammar Patterns

study zoology

zoology class / lecture / textbook

Usage Note

Usually uncountable and treated as a field of study. Common after verbs like study, teach, and major in, and before words such as class, lecture, and textbook.

Common Mistakes

She studies zoologies at college.
She studies zoology at college.
zoology is normally uncountable as an academic subject.
I have a zoology tomorrow morning.
I have a zoology class tomorrow morning.
zoology names the subject, not one lesson.

2. the animals living in one area or belonging to one time in history, viewed toget

2.nounC2
Definition

the animals living in one area or belonging to one time in history, viewed together as a group.

Example

The island's zoology changed after rats arrived on the first ships.

the zoology of a place — animal life of a region

Fossils reveal the desert zoology of North Africa millions of years ago.

historical use with fossils and past periods

Common collocations
  • the zoology of the island
  • desert zoology
  • river zoology
  • coastal zoology
Synonyms
  • fauna

    the closest formal equivalent and the more usual word in science writing.

  • wildlife

    everyday word for animals living in the wild; less formal than zoology here.

  • animal life

    plain-language paraphrase without the formal tone.

Antonyms
  • flora

    the plant life of a place or period, often contrasted with animal life.

Grammar Patterns

the zoology of [place]

[habitat] zoology

Usage Note

Formal and mostly found in scientific or historical writing, especially with a place or time period attached. In everyday English, wildlife or fauna is usually more natural.

Common Mistakes

We saw a zoology near the river.
We saw an animal near the river.
this sense refers to all the animals of a place, not one creature.
The zoology in the forest are rich.
The zoology of the forest is rich.
this meaning is usually singular and commonly takes of + place.

Word family

  • zoologist
    nounC1
  • zoological
    adjectiveC2
  • zoologically
    adverbC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Zoology is narrower than biology. Biology covers all living things and life processes, while zoology focuses only on animals. Animal science often overlaps with zoology, but it usually leans more toward farm animals, breeding, and practical animal care. Ecology is different again: it studies how living things relate to each other and to their environment, rather than animals themselves as the main subject. A student might say, 'I study zoology because I want to understand animal behavior,' but say, 'My sister studies biology,' if her work also includes plants, cells, or genetics. If someone researches food production in cattle, animal science may be the better label.

zoology ↗biology ↗animal scienceecology ↗

Etymology

GreekModern Latin (scientific)English

Zoology was formed from Greek parts meaning 'animal' and 'study' or 'account'. It passed into modern scientific Latin and then into English as the name for the branch of biology concerned with animals. The same first part appears in words like zoo and zoological.

First known use

1663

1663, in the meaning defined at sense 1