zap

See also: Zap and żąp

Translingual

Etymology

Clipping of English Zapotec or Spanish zapoteco.

Symbol

zap

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Zapotec.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Zapotec terms

English

Etymology

1920s, American English, of imitative origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zæp/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æp

Noun

zap (plural zaps)

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.
   • 1998, Raymond A. Smith, Encyclopedia of AIDS:

     Black AIDS activists were caught in the middle of a nearly yearlong series of zaps.

   • 2011, Michael Schiavi, Celluloid Activist: The Life and Times of Vito Russo, page 84:

     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.

4. (slang) The act of heating something in a microwave oven.
   • 2015, Thomas E. Johnson, West Meets East in Kazakhstan:

     The guest immediately asked the bartender to give his drink a zap in the microwave oven behind him […]

Derived terms

• brain zap

Translations

sound

• German: Funkenschlag m
• Polish: trzask (pl) m

electrical shock

• Catalan: fiblada (ca)
• German: (elektrischer) Schlag m
• Italian: scossa (it) f
• Polish: porażenie prądem n
• Spanish: corrientazo (es) m

Verb

zap (third-person singular simple present zaps, present participle zapping, simple past and past participle zapped)

1. (intransitive) To make a zap sound.
2. To use a remote control to repeatedly fast-forward or change channels on a television.

   Synonyms: channel surf, channel hop

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

   They spent the whole movie zapping bad guys into oblivion.

4. (US, military, slang, transitive) To kill; to eliminate.
   • 1966, U.S. News & World Report, volume 61, page 32:

     Says a U. S. officer: "We zapped the enemy, now we intend to stick around. […]

5. (slang, transitive) To do away with something.
6. (slang, transitive) To enliven.
7. (slang, transitive) To move or transport (something) in a brief time frame.
8. (slang, transitive) To damage (especially electronics) with electrostatic discharge.

   I think they zapped the processor.

9. (slang, transitive) To heat (something) in a microwave oven.

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

10. (slang, transitive) To delete or discard (electronic media).

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

11. (slang, transitive) To further energize or charge (magnetic material).

    They zapped my motor's magnets.

12. (Singapore, informal, transitive) To photocopy.
    • 2004 October 19, Kevin & Lily Shepherdson, “Digital Life”, in The Straits Times, Singapore, page 16:

      Got to go and zap this document now.

13. To participate in a zap (protest) against.
    • 1976 April 3, 'A. Nolder Gay', “The View From The Closet”, in Gay Community News, page 16:

      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.

Derived terms

• zap 'em up
• zap over
• zappable
• zappee
• zappy
• zap up
• zip zap zop

Descendants

• Catalan: zàping
• Dutch: zappen
• Esperanto: zapi
• French: zapping, zapper
• Galician: zapear, zapping
• German: zappen
• Portuguese: zapear, zapar, zapping
• Spanish: zapping, zapear
• Swedish: zappa

Translations

make a zapping sound

• Polish: błyskać (pl) impf, błysnąć pf

change channels repeatedly

• Catalan: fer zàping m
• Dutch: zappen (nl)
• Esperanto: zapi
• French: zapper (fr), faire du zapping
• Galician: zapear
• German: zappen (de)
• Polish: skakać z kanału na kanał impf
• Portuguese: zapear (pt) (Brazil), zapar (pt) (Brazil), fazer zapping
• Spanish: zapear (es), hacer zapping
• Swedish: zappa (sv)

strike with energy

• Japanese: (colloquial) なぐる (ja) (naguru), 殺す (ja) (korosu)
• Polish: szokować (pl) impf, zszokować pf
• Russian: ударить током pf (udaritʹ tokom), шандарахнуть (ru) pf (šandaraxnutʹ)

damage with electrostatic discharge

• Polish: walić prądem impf, walnąć prądem pf

heat in a microwave oven

• Polish: podgrzewać w mikrofalówce impf, podgrzać w mikrofalówce pf
• Swedish: mikra (sv)

delete (electronic media)

• French: enlever (fr)
• Japanese: 削除する (sakujo suru)
• Polish: kasować (pl) impf, skasować (pl) pf

Interjection

zap!

1. Representing the sound or action of a zap.

   Then the computer went zap and I lost all my work.

   • 1975, Rennie Ellis, editors, Australian Graffiti, page [1]:

     Zap is a comic-book hero - Zap! Powie! Kazoom!; why have you retired, Zap, when we need you so much?

Translations

representing the sound of a zap

• Italian: zaff
• Polish: trzask (pl)
• Swedish: pang (sv)
• Thai: จี๊ด (jíit)

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

zap

1. inflection of zappen:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈza.pi/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈzap/

• Rhymes: -api
• Homophone: zape
• Hyphenation: zap

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

• Zap

Noun

zap m (plural zaps)

1. (Brazil, colloquial, Internet slang, text messaging) clipping of WhatsApp

Derived terms

• zapzap
• zipzop

Proper noun

zap m

1. alternative letter-case form of Zap
   • 2024 September 7, Antonio Prata, “Venho, por meio desta [I hereby]”, in Folha de S.Paulo‎^[1], São Paulo: Folha da Manhã, →ISSN, archived from the original on 7 September 2024:

     No grupo de zap "Compras réveillon 2017" surgem discussões acaloradas sobre o melhor acordo de cessar fogo entre Israel e Palestina.

     In the WhatsApp group "Shopping list 2017 New Year's Eve", heated discussions emerge concerning the best ceasefire agreement between Israel and Palestine.

Etymology 2

Noun

zap m (plural zaps)

2. (Brazil, card games, slang) the highest ranking card in a game of Truco; usually a trump card of clubs, but the rules can vary

   Synonym: gato

   • [2022 June 24, “Você sabe jogar truco mineiro? Conheça as regras! [Do you know how to play Truco Mineiro? Know the rules!]”, in TV Integração‎^[2], Uberlândia: Globo, archived from the original on 18 July 2022:

     Assim, as Manilhas na versão mineira ficam desta maneira: / 4 de paus (Zap ou Gato); / 7 de copas (Copeta ou Copilha); / Ás de espadas (Espadilha); / 7 de ouros (Pica-fumo ou Mole).

     Thus, the manilles in the Mineiro version are ranked this way: 4 of clubs ([called] “zap” or “gato”); 7 of cups (“copeta” or “copilha”); ace of spades (“espadilha”); 7 of diamonds (“pica-fumo” or “mole”).]

Further reading

• “zap”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “zap”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “zap”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026
• “zap”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN

Romanian

Interjection

zap

1. alternative form of zapa

Yola

Etymology

From Middle English soppe, from Old English sopa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zap/

Noun

zap

1. sup

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 80