zeebra

Noun

zebra (plural zebra or zebras)

1. Any of three species of subgenus Hippotigris: Equus grevyi, Equus quagga, or Equus zebra, all with black and white stripes and native to Africa.
   • A group of zebras can be called a dazzle.2019 June 6, “A gaggle, a confusion and a conspiracy - bizarre animal collective group names”, in BBC
2. (slang) A referee.
3. (slang) An unlikely diagnosis, especially for symptoms probably caused by a common ailment.
   • "It's a zebra! George. OK, I should explain. A zebra is..."
     "Medical slang for coming to an exotic diagnosis when a more simple explanation is more likely."
     "That's right. I was convinced that George, given his age and symptoms, had some kind of cardiac issue. It fit, it made sense. Because I was...2005 March 7, “Apologies and Rememberances”, in Good Witch, season 1, episode 2 (TV), spoken by Dr. Sam Radford and Cassie Nightingale (James Denton and Catherine Bell), via Hallmark
4. (broadly) Someone who has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or hypermobility spectrum disorder
   • EDS charities around the world use a zebra logo to promote the idea that sometimes it really is that ‘rare’ condition.2020, Pharmaceutical Technology
5. (derogatory, ethnic, slang, slur) A biracial person, specifically one born to a Sub-Saharan African person and a white person.
   • “People change countries for all kinds of reasons,” Ross tells me. “But at least one of them was that she had this light-skinned, mixed-race child who had already been called a zebra at school.”2021 April 10, Alex Clark, “‘I’m 51, I can say what I want’: Leone Ross has overcome her fears”, in The Guardian
6. (informal) A zebra cichlid (Amatitlania nigrofasciata).

See all 10 meanings of zebra