zzz

Z10Z10Z10
[zːːː]

interjection

A snoring sound, implying that somebody is asleep.

Less commonScrabble 30

Meanings

interjection
  1. A snoring sound, implying that somebody is asleep.
verbzzz (third-person singular simple present zzzs, present participle zzzing, simple past and past participle zzzed)

present singular third person zzzs · participle present zzzing · participle past zzzed · past zzzed

  1. onomatopoeicTo sleep or snore.

    He lay back on his pillow, made a faint zzzing sound that ceased, and presently and quite quietly he died — greatly comforted by my assurance.

    1909, H. G. Wells, Tono-Bungay, page 461
    1 more example

    He zzzed for a long time, bobbing back and forth, and then he let us go, pointing to two empty seats across the aisle and motioning for us to sit down.

    1996, Charlotte Abrams, The Silents, page 42

Origin

Conventionalized sound of snoring.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan zzz
  • zzzTranslations
Chinese Cantonese 噶
  • 噶Translations
Chinese Mandarin 呼嚕 /呼噜
  • 呼嚕 /呼噜 (hūlū)Translations
Dutch zzz
  • zzzTranslations
Finnish krooh pyyh
  • krooh pyyhTranslations
French zzz
  • zzzTranslations
German schnarch, chrrr
  • schnarchTranslations
  • chrrrTranslations
Greek ζζζ
  • ζζζ (zzz)Translations
Italian zzz
  • zzzTranslations
Japanese すやすや, ズズズ
  • すやすや (suyasuya)Translations
  • ズズズ (zuzuzu)Translations
Korean 콜콜, 쿨쿨
  • 콜콜 (kolkol)Translations
  • 쿨쿨 (kulkul)Translations
Portuguese zzz
  • zzzTranslations
Romanian sfor
  • sforTranslations
Russian хррр
  • хррр (xrrr)Translations
Spanish zzz
  • zzzTranslations
Swedish zzz, snark
  • zzzTranslations
  • snarkTranslations
Thai ครอกฟี้
  • ครอกฟี้Translations
Urdu خر خر, خور خور
  • خر خر (xar xar)Translations
  • خور خور (xor xor)Translations
Vietnamese khò, khò khò
  • khòTranslations
  • khò khòTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

zzz. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zzz

MLA

“zzz.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zzz. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “zzz,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zzz.

Source: zzz on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.