Imagine you are standing outside in a big open area on a bright sunny day. You can see the ground, the sky, and everything in between.
The horizon is the place where the ground meets the sky. It's where things seem to disappear into the distance because they are too far away to see clearly.
The zenith is the point directly above your head in the sky. It's like the tippy-top of an imaginary dome-shaped ceiling above you.
The horizon zenith angle is the measurement of the angle between your line of sight to the horizon and your line of sight to the zenith. Basically, it's how high up in the sky you're looking compared to how low down on the ground you're looking.
If you're looking straight ahead at the horizon, the horizon zenith angle is 0 degrees. If you're looking straight up at the zenith, the horizon zenith angle is 90 degrees.
Understanding the horizon zenith angle is important for things like astronomy and navigation because it helps you figure out where things are in the sky and how to get from one place to another using landmarks.