What does zookeeper mean?
Word: Zookeeper
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Zookeeper means a person whose job is to look after the animals in a zoo and keep them well fed and healthy.
How do you spell zookeeper?
Syllables: zoo - keep - er
Tricky part: The long e sound in the middle needs two e's side by side. Pupils often write only one and get zookeper.
Watch out for: zookeper, zukeeper
Memory tip: Picture two e's standing side by side like a pair of watchful eyes on the animals: never let one of them wander off.
Zookeeper in a sentence
Example 1: The zookeeper tossed fresh fish to the penguins at exactly three o'clock.
Example 2: Our guide at the Mysuru zoo was a zookeeper who had looked after the elephants for twenty years.
Example 3: Rohan's dream job is to be a zookeeper and work with red pandas.
Fun Fact
Many zookeepers train large animals such as elephants to lift a foot or open their mouth on a signal, so that the vets can check them calmly without any fuss.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Only one of these compound words is spelt correctly. Choose it:
a) zookeeper
b) lightouse
c) handkercheif
d) cupbord
Show answer
a) zookeeper. Lighthouse keeps its h after light, handkerchief has ie before f, and cupboard has oa.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
zookeepper
a) k
b) r
c) p
d) o
Show answer
c) p. A long ee sound is followed by a single consonant here, just as in sleeper.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) naturalist
b) conservationist
c) zookeepor
d) ornithologist
Show answer
c) zookeepor. A person who keeps something is a keeper, so the job ends in er.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
ozeeekpor
a) zoologist
b) zookeeper
c) zodiac
d) zoology
Show answer
b) zookeeper. The jumble has a k and a p, which none of the other three words contains.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which skill matters most for a zookeeper?
a) baking bread and cakes
b) driving a bus through traffic
c) typing long letters quickly
d) watching animals closely and patiently
Show answer
d) watching animals closely and patiently
2. Which of these tasks is part of a zookeeper's normal day?
a) cleaning out the animal enclosures
b) printing the morning newspaper
c) repairing buses at the depot
d) selling tickets at the cinema
Show answer
a) cleaning out the animal enclosures
