zap

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zap

(zăp) Informal

v. zapped, zap·ping, zaps

v.tr.

a. To strike (an object or target) with a beam of energy, an electric current, or supernatural power: In the movie, the alien zaps the scientist with a ray gun.

b. To expose to radiation, as to cook or examine: zap food in a microwave; zap luggage with x-rays at a security checkpoint.

c. In science fiction and fantasy, to transport (a person or thing) into another place or time instantaneously, as with an energy beam.

a. To destroy or kill: "when the dinosaurs got zapped by whatever zapped the dinosaurs" (Laura Kasischke).

b. To deplete or obliterate: "His personal funds were zapped in the merger" (Patricia Haley).

3. To have a sudden and powerful effect on: "His ... narrative runs marvelously on and on, zapping the reader with often surprising and ... painful glimpses" (Publishers Weekly).

v.intr.

1. To move swiftly; zoom: zapped into the kitchen for a snack.

2. To use a remote control to turn a television set on or off or to switch channels.

1. A burst or beam of energy, electric current, or other power: a zap of 120 volts.

2. A sudden and powerful effect: a zap of fear; a zap of insight.

interj.

Used to indicate a sudden occurrence.

[Imitative.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

zap

(zæp)

vb, zaps, zapping or zapped

1. (Military) (tr) to attack, kill, or destroy, as with a sudden bombardment

2. (intr) to move quickly; rush

3. (Computer Science) (tr) computing

a. to clear from the screen

b. to erase

4. (Broadcasting) (intr) television to change channels rapidly by remote control

energy, vigour, or pep

interj

an exclamation used to express sudden or swift action

[C20: of imitative origin]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

zap

(zæp)

v. zapped, zap•ping,
n. Informal. v.t.

1. to attack, defeat, destroy, or kill with sudden speed and force.

2. to bombard with electrical current, radiation, laser beams, gunfire, etc.

3. to strike or jolt suddenly and forcefully.

4. to skip over or delete (TV commercials), as by switching channels or fast-forwarding a VCR.

v.i.

5. to move quickly, forcefully, or destructively.

6. force, energy, or drive; zip.

7. a jolt or charge, as of electricity.

8. a forceful and sudden blow, hit, or attack.

9. any of a variety of methods of political activism, usu. of a disruptive nature.

[1940–45; imitative]

zap′per, n.

zap

Past participle: zapped
Gerund: zapping

Imperative
zap
zap

Present
I zap
you zap
he/she/it zaps
we zap
you zap
they zap

Preterite
I zapped
you zapped
he/she/it zapped
we zapped
you zapped
they zapped

Present Continuous
I am zapping
you are zapping
he/she/it is zapping
we are zapping
you are zapping
they are zapping

Present Perfect
I have zapped
you have zapped
he/she/it has zapped
we have zapped
you have zapped
they have zapped

Past Continuous
I was zapping
you were zapping
he/she/it was zapping
we were zapping
you were zapping
they were zapping

Past Perfect
I had zapped
you had zapped
he/she/it had zapped
we had zapped
you had zapped
they had zapped

Future
I will zap
you will zap
he/she/it will zap
we will zap
you will zap
they will zap

Future Perfect
I will have zapped
you will have zapped
he/she/it will have zapped
we will have zapped
you will have zapped
they will have zapped

Future Continuous
I will be zapping
you will be zapping
he/she/it will be zapping
we will be zapping
you will be zapping
they will be zapping

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been zapping
you have been zapping
he/she/it has been zapping
we have been zapping
you have been zapping
they have been zapping

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been zapping
you will have been zapping
he/she/it will have been zapping
we will have been zapping
you will have been zapping
they will have been zapping

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been zapping
you had been zapping
he/she/it had been zapping
we had been zapping
you had been zapping
they had been zapping

Conditional
I would zap
you would zap
he/she/it would zap
we would zap
you would zap
they would zap

Past Conditional
I would have zapped
you would have zapped
he/she/it would have zapped
we would have zapped
you would have zapped
they would have zapped

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	zap - a sudden event that imparts energy or excitement, usually with a dramatic impact; "they gave it another zap of radiation" event - something that happens at a given place and time
Verb	1.	zap - strike suddenly and with force; "This show zaps the viewers with some shocking scenes" impress, strike, affect, move - have an emotional or cognitive impact upon; "This child impressed me as unusually mature"; "This behavior struck me as odd"
	2.	zap - kill with or as if with a burst of gunfire or electric current or as if by shooting; "in this computer game, space travellers are vaporized by aliens" vaporize kill - cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly; "This man killed several people when he tried to rob a bank"; "The farmer killed a pig for the holidays"
	3.	zap - strike at with firepower or bombs; "zap the enemy" nuke, atomise, atomize bomb, bombard - throw bombs at or attack with bombs; "The Americans bombed Dresden"
	4.	zap - cook or heat in a microwave oven; "You can microwave the leftovers" micro-cook, microwave, nuke cookery, cooking, preparation - the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat; "cooking can be a great art"; "people are needed who have experience in cookery"; "he left the preparation of meals to his wife" cook - transform and make suitable for consumption by heating; "These potatoes have to cook for 20 minutes"

zap

verb hit, shoot, blast, kill, destroy, stun, neutralize A guard zapped him with the stun gun.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

zap

verb

1. Slang. To cause the death of:

carry off, cut down, cut off, destroy, dispatch, finish (off), kill, slay.

Slang: waste.

Idioms: put an end to, put to sleep.

2. Slang. To take the life of (a person or persons) unlawfully:

destroy, finish (off), kill, liquidate, murder, slay.

Informal: put away.

Slang: bump off, do in, knock off, off, rub out, waste, wipe out.

Translations

Spanish / Español

Select a language:

zap

[zæp]

A. EXCL → ¡zas!

B. VT

1. (= destroy) [+ person] → cargarse

2. (Comput) (= delete) [+ word, data] → borrar, suprimir

3. (TV) to zap the TV channels → zapear

C. VI (= move quickly) → ir corriendo

zap along VI + ADV → ir a toda pastilla

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

zap

(zap) – past tense, past participle zapped – verb

1. to kill or destroy, especially in a computer game. cargarse

2. to change channels on television with a remote control. hacer zapping

zapping noun

the act of changing channels with a remote control. zapping

References in periodicals archive ?

ITU-T FG IPTV recommendation [1] defines the process of TV channel change from one TV channel to the other as a TV channel zapping. ITU-T G.1030 [2] recommends that digital IP television channel zapping time should not exceed the limit of 2 seconds.

Subjective and objective MOS evaluation of user's perceived quality assessment for IPTV service: a study of the experimental investigations

KOREAN car maker Kia is zapping the price of more of its Rio models.

Kia zaps prices

The past established, Berkowitz proceeds to patterns emerging in the present, describing information warfare's new concepts in terms of zapping, swarming, and network defense.

Out of the info loop: why information networks are crucial to modern warfare

Another useful and easy thing to try is zapping the PRAM, (p-RAM).

LITTLE MAC CORNER: SHORTCUTS AND ROUTINES FOR APPLEMAC USERS

Disney Channel Latin America will bow "Zapping Zone," its first original production for Argentinean television, on broadcaster Azul May 13.

DISNEY IS ZAPPING INTO THE ORIGINAL `ZONE'

The impact of consumer channel switching, or "zapping," on the effectiveness of TV commercials is addressed.

Zapping Behavior during Commercial Breaks

What would your mom say if she caught you zapping melted chocolate bars with electricity?

Choco-shock

Now located in Leipzig, Germany, the mobile unit has completed 27 tests, zapping groundwater and wastewater contaminated with sundry toxins.

Electron beam cleans dirty water

So, these days, the would-be food-irradiation king is reduced to zapping fruit.

Food irradiation: zapping our troubles away?

Unlike analog TV, channel zapping delay increases due to the necessity of audio/video data buffering, decoding at STB and other additional signaling information.

IPTV channel zap time analysis/IPTV paslaugos kanalu perjungimo laiko analize

To begin with, it is necessary to define zapping within the context of our study.

Zapping and its impact on brand purchase behavior

But zapping fullerene films with lasers causes the 60-carbon buckyballs and their 70-carbon big brothers to vaporize and combine like soap bubbles, says Chahan Yeretzian, a physical chemist at the University of California, Los Angeles.