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zap

 - 7 dictionary results

zap

[zap] verb, zapped, zap⋅ping, noun Informal.
–verb (used with object)
1. to kill or shoot.
2. to attack, defeat, or destroy with sudden speed and force.
3. to bombard with electrical current, radiation, laser beams, etc.
4. to strike or jolt suddenly and forcefully.
5. to cook in a microwave oven.
6. to skip over or delete (TV commercials), as by switching channels or pushing a fast-forward button on a playback device: We recorded the show on our VCR but zapped all the commercials.
7. to add a sudden infusion of energy, verve, color, attractiveness, or the like (often fol. by up): just the thing to zap up your spring wardrobe.
–verb (used without object)
8. to move quickly, forcefully, or destructively: high-voltage currents zapping overhead.
–noun
9. force, energy, or drive; zip.
10. a jolt or charge, as or as if of electricity.
11. a forceful and sudden blow, hit, or attack.
12. any method of political activism, usually of a disruptive nature.

Origin:
1940–45, Americanism; imit.


zapper, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To zap
zap   (zāp)   
v.   zapped, zap·ping, zaps

v.   tr.
    1. To destroy or kill with a burst of gunfire, flame, or electric current.

    2. To kill or destroy as if by shooting.

    3. To strike suddenly and forcefully as if with a projectile or weapon: "His . . . narrative runs marvelously on and on, zapping the reader with often surprising and . . . painful glimpses" (Publishers Weekly).

    4. To expose to radiation; irradiate: "perfect for those who can't bring themselves to zap food in a microwave" (John F. Mariani).

  1. To attack (an enemy) with heavy firepower; strafe or bombard.

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

v.   intr.
To move swiftly; zoom.
n.  Something that imparts excitement or great interest.
interj.  
  1. Used to imitate a sound made by a gun when fired.

  2. Used to indicate a sudden occurrence.


[Imitative.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
zap

  1. tv.
    to shock someone. : That fake snake zapped me for a minute.
  2. tv.
    to kill someone. : The stress from it all nearly zapped him.
  3. tv.
    to impress someone. : My big idea really zapped the boss. I may get a raise.
  4. tv.
    to stun someone with an imaginary ray gun. : He zapped me with a water gun.
  5. exclam.
    Wow! (Usually Zap!) : He said, “Zap!” indicating that he really liked the present, I guess.
  6. tv.
    to defeat someone or a team. : Fred zapped Britney in the spelling bee.
  7. in.
    to zipor move to somewhere very fast. : He's zapping to the drugstore for some aspirin.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

zap 
1929 (sound effect), 1942 (v.), comic strip word (especially from "Buck Rogers in the Twenty-Fifth Century"), of imitative origin. Meaning "to erase electronically" is 1982.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Computing Dictionary

ZAP
1. A language for expressing program transformations.
["A System for Assisting Program Transformation", M.S. Feather, ACM TOPLAS 4(1):1-20, Jan 1982].
2. Zero and Add Packed.
(2001-03-25)

zap jargon
1. To modify, usually to correct; especially used when the action is performed with a debugger or binary patching tool. Also implies surgical precision. "Zap the debug level to 6 and run it again."
In the IBM mainframe world, binary patches are applied to programs or to the operating system with a program called "superzap", whose file name is "IMASPZAP" (possibly contrived from I M A SuPerZAP).
See also Zero and Add Packed.
2. To fry a chip with static electricity. "Uh oh - I think that lightning strike may have zapped the disk controller."
(1998-07-08)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
ZAP
acknowledge please (shortwave transmission)
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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