# zee

/ˈzi/ (US) · /zˈiː/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/zee
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. the letter Z

noun · CEFR A1 · American English

the name of the letter Z in American English.

For teachers: the standard American English name for the twenty-sixth letter of the Latin alphabet.

- In the United States, children sing the alphabet song ending with 'x, y, and zee'.
- The phonetic distinction between the American 'zee' and the British 'zed' is one of the most recognizable markers of regional dialect.

Usage: Used as a countable noun when referring to the character itself.

### 2. sleep

noun · CEFR B2 · Informal · American English

a way to talk about sleep, usually used in the plural as 'some zees'.

For teachers: a colloquial term for sleep, typically used in the plural to represent the sound of snoring.

- I need to catch some zees before my long flight tomorrow morning.
- After a grueling double shift at the hospital, he was desperate to head home and catch a few zees.

Usage: Almost exclusively used in the plural form 'zees' within the idiom 'catch some zees'.

### 3. to sleep

verb · CEFR C2 · Informal · Dialect

to take a nap or sleep for a while.

For teachers: to sleep or nap; often used intransitively in informal contexts.

- He was zeeing on the sofa while the movie was playing.
- The passenger in the seat next to me spent the entire duration of the flight zeeing loudly.

Usage: This verb form is less common than the noun idiom and is often associated with specific regional dialects.

## Examples

- In the United States, the alphabet ends with zee.
- When spelling his name over the phone, the American clerk clarified that it ended with a zee, not a see.
- While most Commonwealth nations adhere to the pronunciation 'zed', the American 'zee' has gained global recognition through popular children's songs and educational media exported from the United States.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.