German–English dictionary

zuweisen

(transitive) To set apart for, or assign to, a particular person or use, especially in exclusion of all others; with to or for.

Zuweisen der Opferrolle

An act that victimizes or exploits someone.

Zuweisung

The process or procedure for allocating things, especially money or other resources.

Zuwendung

An additional payment given freely as thanks for service.

zuwider sein

(intransitive) To oppose; to refuse to accept.

Zuwiderhandelnde

Someone who does wrong, whether morally, ethically, or in contravention of a law.

Zuwiderhandelnder

Someone who does wrong, whether morally, ethically, or in contravention of a law.

Zuwiderhandlung

The act of contravening (a rule, regulation, law, or order) or of not fulfilling (an obligation, promise, or agreement).

zuwinken

(ambitransitive) To wave or nod to somebody with the intention to make the person come closer.

zuzeln

(intransitive) To pronounce the consonant ‘s’ imperfectly; to give ‘s’ and ‘z’ the sounds of ‘th’ (/θ/, /ð/). This is a speech impediment common among children.

zuziehen

(figurative) To give (courage, strength, etc.) to oneself; to summon up; also, to produce (evil, wickedness, etc.) in oneself.

zuzwinkern

(transitive, intransitive) To blink with only one eye as a message, signal, or suggestion, usually with an implication of conspiracy. (When transitive, the object may be the eye being winked, or the message being conveyed.)

Zwang

An irrational need or irresistible urge to perform some action, often despite negative consequences.

zwängen

(ambitransitive) To fit into a tight place.

zwanghaft

Uncontrolled or reactive and irresistible.

zwanglos

Not formal or ceremonious.

zwanglos unterhalten

An informal chat.

Zwangneurose

An irrational need or irresistible urge to perform some action, often despite negative consequences.

Zwangsbedingung

(mathematics) A condition that a solution to an optimization problem must satisfy.

Zwangsbefehl

(countable, legal) A written order, issued by a court, ordering someone to do (or stop doing) something.

zwangsbeurlauben

(transitive) To have (an employee) not work in order to reduce costs; to send (someone) on furlough.

zwangseinweisen

(UK, Australia, New Zealand) To commit (a person) to a hospital for mental health treatment as an involuntary patient. So called after various sections of legal acts regarding mental health.

Zwangsjacke

A jacket-like garment with very long sleeves which can be secured in place, thus preventing the wearer from moving his or her arms. Often used in psychiatric hospitals to prevent patients from injuring themselves or others.

Zwangslage

An urgent situation, one requiring extreme effort or attention.

zwangsläufig

Predictable or always happening.

Zwangsläufigkeit

(uncountable) The condition of being inevitable.

Zwangsräumung

The act of evicting.

Zwangsurlaub

A period of unpaid time off, used by an employer to reduce costs.

Zwangsverwalter

(legal) A person with whom two or more contending parties deposit the subject matter of the controversy; one who mediates between two parties; a referee

zwangsvollstrecken

(transitive, legal) To repossess a mortgaged property whose owner has failed to make the necessary payments; used with on.

Zwangsvollstreckung

(legal) The proceeding, by a creditor, to regain property or other collateral following a default on mortgage payments.

zwangsvorladen

(law) To summon (someone) with a subpoena (noun sense 1) to appear in court, or at a deposition or some other legal proceeding, as a witness to give testimony or to produce evidence; to serve a subpoena on (someone).

Zwangsvorladung

(law) A writ requiring someone to appear in court, or at a deposition or some other legal proceeding, as a witness to give testimony (a subpoena ad testificandum) or to produce evidence (subpoena duces tecum), in default of which the person may be punished.

zwangsweise

Having the power of compulsion; constraining.

zwangsweise Entfernung

Enforced removal of material from a website, etc.

zwangsweise Löschung

Enforced removal of material from a website, etc.

zwanzig

The cardinal number 20, occurring after nineteen and before twenty-one.

Zwanziger

The decade of the 1820s, 1920s, 2020s, etc.

zwanziger Jahre

The decade of the 1820s, 1920s, 2020s, etc.

zwanzigste

The ordinal form of the number twenty.

zwar

(conjunctive) Signals a concession followed by a counterpoint usually headed by but.

Zweck

(biology) The physiological activity of an organ or body part.

Zweckdienlichkeit

(uncountable) The quality of being fit or suitable to effect some desired end or the purpose intended; suitability for particular circumstance or situation.

zweckentfremden

(transitive) To use (something) incorrectly. [from 14th c.]

Zweckentfremdung

An incorrect, improper or unlawful use of something.

zwecklos

Incapable of producing results, useless; doomed not to be successful; not worth attempting.

zweckmäßig

Suitable to effect some desired end or the purpose intended.

Zweckmäßigkeit

(uncountable) The quality of being fit or suitable to effect some desired end or the purpose intended; suitability for particular circumstance or situation.

zwecks

For the purpose of attaining (an aim).

zween

A numerical value equal to 2; this many dots (••).

zwei

Every two; a rate of once every two.

zwei Wochen

(chiefly, UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, dated, _, in North America) A period of 2 weeks.

Zwei-Faktor-Authentisierung

(computer security) An identity and access management security method in which users provide two different authentication factors to verify themselves: first the user's password and then a (randomly generated and frequently changing) code generated by an app.

zweideutig

Open to multiple interpretations.

Zweideutigkeit

(countable) An instance of this state: words or statements that are open to more than one interpretation, explanation or meaning, especially if that meaning cannot be determined from the context.

Zweidollarschein

(US, informal) A two-dollar bill.

Zweier

(US, informal) A two-dollar bill.

zweifach

Double; duplicate; multiplied by two.

Zweifel

doubt, apprehension, a feeling of dread

zweifelhaft

Capable of being ascribed to different motives, or of signifying opposite feelings, purposes, or characters; deserving to be suspected.

zweifellos

Without doubt, surely.

zweifeln

(ambitransitive) To be undecided about; to lack confidence in; to disbelieve, to question.

zweifelnd

Experiencing or showing doubt, skeptical.

zweifelsfrei

Characterized by or experiencing no doubt at all, certain; undoubted; undoubting.

Zweig

An area in business or of knowledge, research.

Zweigeschlecht

(WWI, _, military, historical) An armoured fighting vehicle having features of both male tanks and female tanks.

zweigeschlechtig

(rare) Hermaphroditic/intersex, being both male and female, or alternating between being male and being female.

zweigeschlechtlich

(rare) Hermaphroditic/intersex, being both male and female, or alternating between being male and being female.

Zweigniederlassung

Someone or something, especially, a television station, that is associated with a larger, related organization, such as a television network; a member of a group of associated things.

Zweigstelle

A location of an organization with several locations.

Zweigung

Any of the parts of something that divides like the branch of a tree.

Zweigunternehmen

A company owned by a parent company or a holding company, also called daughter company or sister company.

Zweihundertjahrfeier

The 200th anniversary of an event or happening.

zweihundertster Jahrestag

The 200th anniversary of an event or happening.

zweijährig

Lasting for two years.

zweijährlich

Happening every two years.

zweilagig

Folded in two; composed of two layers.

Zweiliterflasche

(US) A half-gallon (1.75-liter) bottle of alcohol.

zweimal

Two times.

Zweisamkeit

(uncountable) The state or quality of being together.

zweiseitig

Having two sides.

Zweistromland

(historical) A geographic region in southwest Asia, spanning from the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, located in modern Iraq, eastern Syria, and southeast Turkey; the site of one of the most ancient civilizations in the history of man.

zweit-

(with superlative) After the first; at the second rank.

Zweitbesetzung

A performer who understudies; a standby for a study (9).

zweite

Number-two; following after the first one with nothing between them. The ordinal number corresponding to the cardinal number two.

zweite Wahl

(usually, in the plural) A manufactured item that, though still usable, fails to meet quality control standards.

zweiteilen

(transitive) To divide into two halves.

zweiteilig

Having two parts (two principal or main parts).

Zweiteilung

A separation or division into two; a distinction that results in such a division.

zweitens

In the second place.

zweiter

Relating to or being the second of two items.

Zweiter Schnitt

(obsolete, agriculture) A second mowing; the grass which grows after the first crop of hay in the same season; lattermath.

zweiwöchentlich

Occurring once every two months

zweizackig

Divided or forked into two; bifurcated.

Zweizahl

(mathematics) Of a vector in an inner product space, the linear functional corresponding to taking the inner product with that vector. The set of all duals is a vector space called the dual space.

Zwerchfell

(anatomy) In mammals, a sheet of muscle separating the thorax from the abdomen, contracted and relaxed in respiration to draw air into and expel air from the lungs.

Zwerg

(now, sometimes, _, offensive) A person of short stature, often one whose limbs are disproportionately small in relation to the body as compared with typical adults, usually as the result of a genetic condition.

Zwerg-

(especially in, _, botany) Miniature.

zwergenhaft

(especially in, _, botany) Miniature.

Zwergin

(now, sometimes, _, offensive) A person of short stature, often one whose limbs are disproportionately small in relation to the body as compared with typical adults, usually as the result of a genetic condition.

Zwergstern

(now, sometimes, _, offensive) A person of short stature, often one whose limbs are disproportionately small in relation to the body as compared with typical adults, usually as the result of a genetic condition.

Zwergwiesel

A least weasel (Mustela nivalis).

zwergwüchsig

(medicine) Of a person: shorter than usual for one's age.

Zwetschge

An edible, fleshy stone fruit of Prunus domestica (European plum), often of a dark red or purple colour. [from 8th c.]

Zwickel

The ventral area (very bottom) of the human body between where the legs fork from the torso, in the area of the genitals and anus.

zwicken

To squeeze a small amount of a person's skin and flesh, making it hurt.

Zwickmühle

(idiomatic) A difficult situation from which there is no escape because it involves mutually conflicting or dependent conditions.

Zwieback

(nautical) A large, hard biscuit made from unleavened flour and water; formerly used as a long-term staple food aboard ships.

Zwiebel

The bulb-shaped underground portion of a plant such as a tulip, consisting of a shortened stem and many fleshy scale leaves, from which the rest of the plant may be regrown.

Zwielicht

The close of the day; the coming of night.

zwielichtig

(of a statement, matter, or thing) Arousing doubt; questionable; open to suspicion.

zwielichtige Gestalt

(derogatory) An untrustworthy, despicable, or disreputable person, especially one suspected of being a criminal.

zwielichtige Person

(derogatory) An untrustworthy, despicable, or disreputable person, especially one suspected of being a criminal.

zwiespältig

Simultaneously experiencing or expressing opposing or contradictory feelings, beliefs, motivations, or meanings.

Zwiesprache halten

(informal, business) To discuss or negotiate so that all parties can reach an understanding.

Zwietracht

Tension or strife resulting from a lack of agreement; dissension.

Zwille

(chiefly, American, AU, Philippines) A Y-shaped stick with an elastic sling between the arms used for shooting small projectiles.

Zwilling

Someone who has the Gemini star sign.

Zwillingin

Either of two people (or, less commonly, animals) who shared the same uterus at the same time; one who was born at the same birth as a sibling.

Zwillings-

Forming a pair of twins.

zwingen

(transitive) To force, constrain, or coerce.

zwingend

Displaying a tendency or intent to coerce.

zwingend erforderlich

Required as a prior condition of something else; necessary or indispensable.

zwingend notwendig

obligatory; required or commanded by authority.

zwingendes Erfordernis

In education, a course or topic that must be completed before another course or topic can be started. May be colloquially referred to as a prereq.

Zwinger

A house or shelter for a dog.

zwinkern

To bat, blink or wink the eyes.

Zwirn

(Internet) A series of posts or messages, consisting of an initial post and responses to it, generally relating to the same subject, on a newsgroup, Internet forum, or social media platform.

zwischen

Denotes a mingling or intermixing with distinct or separable objects. (See Usage Note at amidst.)

Zwischen-

(ecology) A natural succession of animal or plant communities in an ecosystem, especially a series of communities succeeding one another from the time a habitat is unoccupied to the point when a climax community is achieved. [from early 20th c.]

Zwischenablage

(computing) A buffer in memory where the user can store data temporarily while transferring it from one place within an application to another or between applications.

Zwischendeck

(countable) The section of a passenger ship that provided inexpensive accommodation with no individual cabins.

Zwischenfall

An unforeseen, inopportune, or embarrassing event.

Zwischengeschoss

A mezzanine; an intermediate floor in a building, typically resembling a balcony; most often, the floor immediately above the ground floor and below a higher floor.

Zwischenhalt

A short interruption in a journey or the place visited during such an interruption.

Zwischenhändler

A person or organisation in an intermediate position (in a transaction, agreement, supply chain, etc.)

Zwischenhändlerin

A person or organisation in an intermediate position (in a transaction, agreement, supply chain, etc.)

Zwischenlandung

A short interruption in a journey or the place visited during such an interruption.

Zwischenleiste

A wooden strip placed between courses of lumber to allow air circulation and to create a gap so the unit can be picked up with a forklift (also kiln sticker).

Zwischenmahlzeit

An item of food eaten between meals.

zwischenmenschlich

Between humans

Zwischenmittel

(mining) An intrusion of another material, such as dirt or slate, within a coal seam.

Zwischenprodukt

(chemistry) Any substance formed as part of a series of chemical reactions that is not the end-product.

Zwischenprüfung

(education) A midterm school exam (i.e., halfway through the term).

Zwischenraum

A distance in space.

Zwischenrufer

One who heckles; somebody who insults, makes fun of, or teases.

Zwischenspeicher

(computing) A fast temporary storage where recently or frequently used information is stored to avoid having to reload it from a slower storage medium.

Zwischenspiel

An intervening episode, etc.

zwischenstaatlich

Of, relating to, or involving two or more governments.

Zwischenstadium

(ecology) A natural succession of animal or plant communities in an ecosystem, especially a series of communities succeeding one another from the time a habitat is unoccupied to the point when a climax community is achieved. [from early 20th c.]