zap.
A sound made by a sudden release of electricity or some similar energy.
Meaning & usage
A sound made by a sudden release of electricity or some similar energy.
An electric shock.
You might feel a little zap touching a metal doorknob when the air is dry.
A raucous public demonstration designed to embarrass a public figure or celebrity as a form of political activism.
The act of heating something in a microwave oven.
Where this word comes from
1920s, American English, of imitative origin.
To make a zap sound.
To use a remote control to repeatedly fast-forward or change channels on a television.
To strike (something or someone) with electricity or energy, as by shooting.
They spent the whole movie zapping bad guys into oblivion.
To kill; to eliminate.
To do away with something.
To enliven.
To move or transport (something) in a brief time frame.
To damage (especially electronics) with electrostatic discharge.
I think they zapped the processor.
To heat (something) in a microwave oven.
If it's not warm in the middle, zap it some more.
To delete or discard (electronic media).
They zapped a lot of files before realizing they had not backed up lately.
To further energize or charge (magnetic material).
They zapped my motor's magnets.
To photocopy.
To participate in a zap (protest) against.
Where this word comes from
1920s, American English, of imitative origin.
Representing the sound or action of a zap.
Then the computer went zap and I lost all my work.
Where this word comes from
1920s, American English, of imitative origin.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.