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zap

noun, verb, intj — 18 senses

zap

noun

/zæp/

Etymology 1920s, American English, of imitative origin.

1

Colloquial A sound made by a sudden release of electricity or some similar energy.

2

Colloquial An electric shock.

  • You might feel a little zap touching a metal doorknob when the air is dry.
3

A raucous public demonstration designed to embarrass a public figure or celebrity as a form of political activism.

  • Black AIDS activists were caught in the middle of a nearly yearlong series of zaps.1998, Raymond A. Smith, Encyclopedia of AIDS:
  • When a zap at Brooklyn's Board of Education opened no dialogue on discrimination suffered by gay teachers, GAA targeted the BOE offices on April 13.2011, Michael Schiavi, Celluloid Activist: The Life and Times of Vito Russo, page 84:
4

Slang The act of heating something in a microwave oven.

  • The guest immediately asked the bartender to give his drink a zap in the microwave oven behind him […]2015, Thomas E. Johnson, West Meets East in Kazakhstan:
Derived terms
brain zap

zap

verb

Etymology 1920s, American English, of imitative origin.

13 senses
  1. 1To make a zap sound.
  2. 2To use a remote control to repeatedly fast-forward or…
  3. 3To strike (something or someone) with electricity or…
  4. 4To kill; to eliminate.
  5. 5To do away with something.
  6. 6To enliven.
  7. 7To move or transport (something) in a brief time frame.
  8. 8To damage (especially electronics) with electrostatic discharge.
  9. 9To heat (something) in a microwave oven.
  10. 10To delete or discard (electronic media).
  11. 11To further energize or charge (magnetic material).
  12. 12To photocopy.
  13. 13To participate in a zap (protest) against.
1

To make a zap sound.

2

To use a remote control to repeatedly fast-forward or change channels on a television.

3

To strike (something or someone) with electricity or energy, as by shooting.

  • They spent the whole movie zapping bad guys into oblivion.
4

Government, Military, Politics, War US, Slang To kill; to eliminate.

  • Says a U. S. officer: "We zapped the enemy, now we intend to stick around. […]1966, U.S. News & World Report, volume 61, page 32:
5

Slang To do away with something.

6

Slang To enliven.

7

Slang To move or transport (something) in a brief time frame.

8

Slang To damage (especially electronics) with electrostatic discharge.

  • I think they zapped the processor.
9

Slang To heat (something) in a microwave oven.

  • If it's not warm in the middle, zap it some more.
10

Slang To delete or discard (electronic media).

  • They zapped a lot of files before realizing they had not backed up lately.
11

Slang To further energize or charge (magnetic material).

  • They zapped my motor's magnets.
12

Singapore, Informal To photocopy.

  • Got to go and zap this document now.2004 October 19, Kevin & Lily Shepherdson, “Digital Life”, in The Straits Times, Singapore, page 16:
13

To participate in a zap (protest) against.

  • We are periodically assailed with appeals to help block this or censor that or zap the other media presentation which one or other of us thinks (often with justice) is injurious to gays or others.1976 April 3, 'A. Nolder Gay', “The View From The Closet”, in Gay Community News, page 16:
Derived terms
zap 'em up, zap over, zap up, zip zap zop

zap

intj

Etymology 1920s, American English, of imitative origin.

1

Representing the sound or action of a zap.

  • Then the computer went zap and I lost all my work.
  • Zap is a comic-book hero - Zap! Powie! Kazoom!; why have you retired, Zap, when we need you so much?1975, Rennie Ellis, editors, Australian Graffiti, page [1]:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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