zoology

Everyday

1. The science that studies animals: their bodies, how they live, grow, behave and where they come from. tree →
2. The animal life of a place: «the zoology of Australia» (formal). tree →

In the lessons

A school science word: zoology is one branch of biology; botany studies plants. A zoologist studies animals, maybe in a lab, a zoo or the wild. In lessons we classify animals (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects) – that is zoology. Stories like the Just So Stories give made-up reasons for animal features, and zoology gives the true ones (for example, how leopards really got spots through evolution).

Examples

• Zoology is the study of animals. tree →
• My cousin is studying zoology at university. tree →
• We learned some zoology when we sorted animals into groups. tree →
• A zoology book explained how bats find their way in the dark. tree →
• She wants a job in zoology, working with gorillas. tree →
• Kipling's stories are fun, but zoology tells us how the camel really got its hump. tree →

Note

Uncountable: no «a zoology». Said «zoo-OL-uh-jee» or «zoh-OL-uh-jee». Related words: zoologist (person), zoological (adjective), zoo (short for zoological garden). The ending «-ology» means «the study of».