Etymology Uncertain. The verb was first attested c. 1892, as a noun in 1918 and as an interjection in 1942. Apparently related to Scots soom (“to buzz, hum”), dialectal English and Scots soom, swoom, sweem (“to spin or twirl at high speed”). Compare also dialectal English sweem (“to swoon, become dizzy or faint”).
1
Representing a humming sound
Makowsky was playing the Bassgeige. Zoom... zoom-zoom.... The rest of the orchestra would join in presently.1918, Annie Vivanti Chartres, The Outrage, page 196:
2
Suggesting something moving quickly
I would dance a few light fantastic steps to show which way the wind lay, and zoom! Like a breeze I was on the piano stool and doing a velocity exercise.1939, Henry Miller, Tropic of Capricorn, Grove Press, published 1962, page 244:
3
Suggesting a sudden change, especially an improvement or an increase
Zoom
verb
Etymology From Zoom, a videoconferencing software by Zoom Video Communications; renamed as such (from Saasbee) in May 2012 by Jim Scheinman after the American children's book Zoom City (1998) by Thacher Hurd for ostensibly encapsulating creativity, happiness and exploration. Scheinman had "been saving the name Zoom for a long time."
1
Ambitransitive To communicate with someone using the Zoom videoconferencing software.
Whether you’re Zooming it in or not sitting down on the job, here’s how to do it right.2018 February 20, Adrienne So, “Sitting in on Remote Meetings? Working at a Standing Desk? Follow These Tips.”, in Wired:
These are professional, managerial, and technical workers – an estimated 35% of the workforce – who are putting in long hours at their laptops, Zooming into conferences, scanning electronic documents, and collecting about the same pay as before the crisis.2020 April 26, Robert Reich, “Covid-19 pandemic shines a light on a new kind of class divide and its inequalities”, in The Guardian:
2
Alternative, Broadly Alternative form of zoom (“to participate in a video teleconferencing call”).
Zoom
noun
Etymology From Zoom, a videoconferencing software by Zoom Video Communications; renamed as such (from Saasbee) in May 2012 by Jim Scheinman after the American children's book Zoom City (1998) by Thacher Hurd for ostensibly encapsulating creativity, happiness and exploration. Scheinman had "been saving the name Zoom for a long time."
1
A videoconference using Zoom.
I have two Zooms tomorrow: one in the morning and another at noon.
2
Alternative, Broadly Alternative form of zoom (“a video teleconference call.”).
3
Informal A video teleconference service or website.
Etymology Uncertain. The verb was first attested c. 1892, as a noun in 1918 and as an interjection in 1942. Apparently related to Scots soom (“to buzz, hum”), dialectal English and Scots soom, swoom, sweem (“to spin or twirl at high speed”). Compare also dialectal English sweem (“to swoon, become dizzy or faint”).
Etymology Uncertain. The verb was first attested c. 1892, as a noun in 1918 and as an interjection in 1942. Apparently related to Scots soom (“to buzz, hum”), dialectal English and Scots soom, swoom, sweem (“to spin or twirl at high speed”). Compare also dialectal English sweem (“to swoon, become dizzy or faint”).
He ran to his right and another shot came at his legs. It hit the floor and zoomed into a huge carboy of clams that split in half and emptied a hundred shell-fish over the floor.1954, Ian Fleming, “Midnight Among The Worms”, in Live and Let Die, London: Pan Books, published 1957, page 160:
1 more example
[…] and it was strange sitting in their brand-new comfortable car and hearing them talk of exams as we zoomed smoothly into town.1957 September 5, Jack Kerouac, On the Road, New York, N.Y.: Viking Press, →OCLC:
Arts, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Photography To change the focal length of a zoom lens.
6
To manipulate a display so as to magnify or shrink it.
to zoom in or zoom out
7
To check someone out; to investigate someone that one is interested in.
(Who's zoomin' who?) / Take another look and tell me, baby / (Who's zoomin' who?) / Who's zoomin' who? / (Who's zoomin' who?) / Now the fish jumped off the hook, didn't I, baby? / (Who's zoomin' who?) / Yeah1985 August 27, Aretha Franklin, Preston Glass, Narada Michael Walden, “Who's Zoomin' Who”, in Who's Zoomin' Who?, performed by Aretha Franklin, track 4:
"It boggles my mind what kind of mentality is at work there." He pointed to two recent issues of the magazine that featured cover stories were about Whitney Houston and Luther Vandross, two pop music icons whose sexual orientations have been widely speculated on in Black lesbian and gay communities. "It makes you wonder if it's an insult to the intelligence of Essence’s lesbian and gay leadership," Cunningham said. "Who's really zooming whom here?"1990 December 16, Chris Nealon, quoting Al Cunningham, “Essence Magazine Agrees To Run Gay Advertisement”, in Gay Community News, volume 18, number 22, page 13:
Etymology A genericization of the trademark Zoom, a video teleconferencing software.
1
To participate in a video teleconferencing call.
zoom
noun
Etymology A genericization of the trademark Zoom, a video teleconferencing software.
1
A video teleconferencing call.
Then, later that day, I logged onto a zoom call and my mother and I set up our yoga mats in the living room, as we had been doing a couple of times a week during the pandemic.2022 September 27, Barclay Bram, “My Therapist, the Robot”, in The New York Times: