| Yugoslavia |
formerly, a country in southeastern Europe located south of Austria and Hungary. Yugoslavia existed as a country from 1918 until it began to break up toward the end of the twentieth century. Eventually, it split up into the independent countries of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Serbia. Belgrade, which is now the capital of Serbia, was the capital of Yugoslavia. |
| Yukon |
a territory of northwest Canada. It borders Alaska on the west, British Columbia on the South, the Northwest Territories on the east, and the Arctic Ocean on the north. Its capital is Whitehorse. [2 definitions] |
| Yukon River |
a major river of North America that flows from western Canada through central Alaska to the Bering Sea, a northern part of the Pacific Ocean. |
| yule |
(sometimes capital) Christmas or the Christmas season. |
| yuletide |
(sometimes capital) the Christmas holiday season. |
| Yupik |
a member of a native people living in parts of Alaska in the U.S. and Siberia in Russia. |
| z |
the twenty-sixth and last letter of the English alphabet. |
| Zaire |
former name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a nation in Central Africa. [2 definitions] |
| Zambezi River |
a major river in southern Africa that flows through Zambia, Angola, and Mozambique before emptying into the Indian Ocean. It also touches the borders of Namibia and Botswana and flows along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. |
| Zambia |
a country in south, central Africa. Lusaka is the capital of Zambia. Zambia used to be called Northern Rhodesia. |
| zap |
(informal) to strike, or kill suddenly. [2 definitions] |
| zeal |
great enthusiasm for a person or cause. |
| zebra |
a large mammal with a striped coat, long legs, and hooves. Zebras are closely related to horses but have shorter manes. They live in large herds in Africa. Several kinds of zebras are in danger of becoming extinct. |
| zenith |
the point in the sky that is directly over the head of the person looking at it. [2 definitions] |
| zeppelin |
(sometimes capitalized) a rigid airship with a long, cylindrical shape, used for carrying passengers. It was invented by a man named Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the late 1800s. |
| zero |
the number represented by the Arabic numeral 0. [4 definitions] |
| zest |
a sense of great pleasure or enjoyment. |
| Zeus |
the ruler of the gods, in Greek mythology. In Roman mythology, Zeus is called Jupiter. |
| zigzag |
a line or course that moves back and forth to form a series of sharp angles. [2 definitions] |
| Zimbabwe |
a country in south, central Africa. Harare is the capital of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe used to be called Rhodesia. |
| zinc |
a bluish white metal that is one of the chemical elements. Zinc does not rust easily. It can be combined with other metals to form alloys. Zinc is also used in making batteries. (symbol: Zn) |