1
—used to express a sound made by or as if by a gun
2
—used to indicate a sudden or instantaneous occurrence
zapped; zapping; zaps
1
a
: to get rid of, destroy, or kill especially with or as if with sudden force
b
: to hit with or as if with a sudden concentrated application of force or energy
c
: to irradiate especially with microwaves
2
a
: to propel suddenly or speedily
b
: to transport instantaneously
3
: to avoid watching (something, such as a television commercial) by changing channels especially with a remote control or by fast-forwarding
1
: to move with speed or force
2
: to change television channels using a remote control
Synonyms
Examples of zap in a Sentence
Verb
The flowers were zapped by the cold weather.
The aliens in the movie zapped people from spaceships.
She reheated her muffin by zapping it in the microwave for a few seconds.
I zapped through the channels for a while before falling asleep.
We tape the show so we can zap through the commercials.
Recent Examples on the Web
Lauren Puckett-Pope, ELLE, 9 Aug. 2023
Joe Buscaglia, The Athletic, 28 Aug. 2024
Sony experimented with swiveling two-handers that could be science fiction zap guns, and had cameras that wrote JPEGs to floppy disks and CDs.
—Brendan Nystedt, WIRED, 27 Nov. 2024
Paige Williams, The New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2024
With just a gentle electric zap, this bioelectronic wearable could prevent bacteria from doing a number on us through our skin.
—New Atlas, 31 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for zap 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Interjection
Yeah, truly, like passing a ball around and zip zap zopping.
—Lauren Puckett-Pope, ELLE, 9 Aug. 2023
Verb
But doing so right now might run the risk of completely zapping Bass of his confidence and ability to work through it.
—Joe Buscaglia, The Athletic, 28 Aug. 2024
Sony experimented with swiveling two-handers that could be science fiction zap guns, and had cameras that wrote JPEGs to floppy disks and CDs.
—Brendan Nystedt, WIRED, 27 Nov. 2024
Noun
An animal that steps on a bear mat receives a nasty zap.
—Paige Williams, The New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2024
With just a gentle electric zap, this bioelectronic wearable could prevent bacteria from doing a number on us through our skin.
—New Atlas, 31 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for zap
Articles Related to zap
Dictionary Entries Near zap
Cite this Entry
“Zap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zap. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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