zap

1. to bombard with electrical current, radiation, laser beams, etc.:

   The military has unsuccessfully tried using airborne lasers to zap missiles early in their flight.

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

   Late frost can zap tender fruit buds.

   Real magic is not about wizards zapping each other with spells.

3. to cook or heat in a microwave oven:

   This coffee is almost cold—could you zap it for 30 seconds?

4. to shoot or send rapidly:

   If you're in the neighborhood, zap me a text and come by!

   Some of his more complex arguments were not easy to zap into a sound bite.

5. to skip over or delete (commercials on TV or radio) in recording or playing back a program:

   Digital recorders able to zap commercials made things harder for the advertising industry.

1. to move quickly, forcefully, or destructively:

   Thoughts are like electric currents zapping through your mind.

   It used to be my childhood dream to zap around in a fast car like that.

1. a jolt or charge of or as if of electricity:

   A wire shorted out and he got a zap from his microphone.

   These fresh-cut fries have a hint of zesty lime and a zap of tequila.

2. an act or period of microwaving:

   We sell prepackaged foods that require only a zap in the microwave to make them table-ready.

3. a forceful and sudden blow, hit, or attack:

   This game character can kill minions and goblins with a zap even after he dies.

4. any method of political activism, usually of a disruptive nature:

   A gay rights group organized a zap of the restaurant to push for removal of its offensive sign.

5. force, energy, or drive; zip:

   Their stew is a bit dull, but the steak chili soup packs much more zap and one heck of a lot of meat.

verb phrase

1. to add a sudden infusion of energy, verve, color, attractiveness, or the like:

   This bright skirt is just the thing to zap up your spring wardrobe.