zorb

English

Etymology

Originally the trademarked name of a particular brand of sphere; perhaps from orb.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zɔː(ɹ)b/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)b

Noun

zorb (plural zorbs)

1. (sports) A large, transparent, inflatable ball, inside which a person may be secured and then rolled downhill.
   • 2006 March 25, Susmita Saha, quoting Anurag Mehra, “A different ballgame”, in Calcutta Telegraph‎^[1]:

     Uneven plains that are interspersed with pebbles and rocks are likely to cause punctures in the zorbs.

   • 2007, William Gray, “Wellington”, in Travel with Kids‎^[2], →ISBN, page 309:

     There's even a kids' zorb for the under six.

   • 2008, Katrin Blumberg, “Internationalisation in adventure tourism”, in Coles & Hall, editors, International Business and Tourism‎^[3], →ISBN, page 175:

     An Interlaken entrepreneur […] came across the activity in the Swiss canton of Valais (the Rhone Valley) and ended up buying the 'zorbs' from a German manufacturer.

Synonyms

• hypersphere, hydrosphere

Verb

zorb (third-person singular simple present zorbs, present participle zorbing, simple past and past participle zorbed)

1. (sports) To roll downhill or engage in sports in a zorb ball.
   • 2003, Damien Simonis et al., Switzerland‎^[4], Lonely Planet, →ISBN, page 57:

     People who've zorbed in New Zealand, say Swiss mountains are too steep to allow the leisurely roll-out that's the real thrill.

   • 2006, John Gisby, New Zealand with a Hobbit Botherer‎^[5], →ISBN, page 41:

     We hadn't even zorbed. Not all bad news then.

   • 2008 March 3, David Bauder, “What a way to start the day: TV morning hosts doing stunts”, in Seattle Times‎^[6]:

     Vieira zorbed — that is, rolled down a hill within an inflatable ball.

Related terms

• zorbonaut
• zorbing

Anagrams

• Broz