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# zigzag

noun (a zigzag, zigzags); adjective (a zigzag line); verb (zigzag, zigzags, zigzagged, zigzagging); adverb (run zigzag)

«zigzag» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A zigzag is a line that goes sharply one way and then sharply the other way, again and again, like the letter Z or W. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Z/zigzag/#m1)
2. To zigzag is to move forward by turning from side to side, again and again. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Z/zigzag/#m2)
3. Zigzag describes anything shaped like that, such as a zigzag pattern. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Z/zigzag/#m3)

### In the lessons

In maths and art it describes a line made of straight pieces joined at sharp corners. In everyday life paths zigzag up steep hills, and road markings in the UK are zigzag lines near crossings where cars must not park. In nature lightning and some snakes' patterns look zigzag. In stories a character zigzags to escape a chaser.

### Examples

- The path zigzags up the side of the mountain. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Z/zigzag/#x1)
- Draw a zigzag line across the top of your page. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Z/zigzag/#x2)
- The rabbit zigzagged across the field to get away from the fox. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Z/zigzag/#x3)
- Lightning made a bright zigzag in the sky. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Z/zigzag/#x4)
- Do not park on the zigzag lines by the school crossing. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Z/zigzag/#x5)
- Her dress had a red and white zigzag pattern. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Z/zigzag/#x6)
- The skier zigzagged down the slope. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Z/zigzag/#x7)
- Like a lightning flash the slender stem shot upwards in a zigzag line, the branches spreading around it like green gauze and banners. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Z/zigzag/#x8)

### Note

Past form doubles the g: zigzagged, zigzagging. Plural: zigzags. Can be written «zig-zag» too. A zigzag is made of straight lines with corners; a curvy line with no corners is a wavy line, not a zigzag.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «zigzag» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/Z/zigzag/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«zigzag» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/zigzag.html) on Mova free.