zip, v.²

zip
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zip_v2%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2021

# zipverb2

## Factsheet

### What does the verb zip mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the verb zip. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

This word is used in U.S. English.

### How is the verb zip pronounced?

#### British English

/zɪp/
zip

#### U.S. English

/zɪp/
zip

### Where does the verb zip come from?

Earliest known use

1960s

The earliest known use of the verb zip is in the 1960s.

OED's earliest evidence for zip is from 1964, in Lebanon (Pennsylvania) Daily News.

It is also recorded as a noun from the 1900s.

zip is formed within English, by conversion.

Etymons: zip n.2

### Nearby entries

1. Zionist, n. & adj. a1649–
2. Zionistic, adj. 1887–
3. Zionite, n. 1596–
4. Zionless, adj. 1908
5. Zionward, adv. 1647–
6. Zionwards, adv. 1674–
7. zip, n.² & adj. 1900–
8. zip, n.³ 1962–
9. zip, n.⁴ 1968–
10. zip, v.¹ 1852–
11. zip, v.²1964–
12. zip, int. & n.¹ 1678–
13. zip-a-dee-doo-dah, int. & adj. 1945–
14. zip code, n. 1962–
15. zip-code, v. 1962–
16. zip-coded, adj. 1963–
17. zip-coding, n. 1964–
18. zip coon, n. 1833–
19. zip cuff, n. 1995–
20. zip cuff, v. 1996–
21. Zipf, n. 1936–

## Etymology

### Summary

Formed within English, by conversion.
< zip n.2

## Meaning & use

1. 1964–
   transitive. U.S. colloquial. To defeat (an opponent in a game or match) without allowing them to score. Cf. zilch v.
   1. 1964

      > Steve Miller led the Trojans to the triumph by zipping his opponent, 4–0, and grabbing medalist honors with a round of 70.

      Lebanon (Pennsylvania) Daily News 1 April 14/5
   2. 1978

      > The Broncos went out and beat the hell out of them, then the next week, went and zipped Cleveland.

      Time 16 January 66
   3. 2015

      > The Royals..zipped the Yankees 6–0.

      New York Post (Nexis) 18 May 64
   sport U.S. English colloquial and slang
   1. overplay c1460–
      transitive. To surpass or overcome in playing; to defeat; to outplay. rare.
   2. smother 1676–
      Used hyperbolically to denote an effusive welcome, etc., or the gaining of a complete or overwhelming victory.
   3. lurch 1678
      transitive. To beat, in various games of skill, sometimes by a specified number or proportion of points. (See lurch, n.¹ 2.)
   4. outplay 1702–
      transitive. To play better than; to beat or surpass in playing (in various senses of the verb). Occasionally reflexive.
   5. thrash 1789–
      transitive. colloquial. To defeat (an opponent) easily or decisively in a game, competition, or other contest (originally esp. a physical fight).
   6. defeat 1830–
      transitive. To beat (another person, team, or animal) in a contest or competition, esp. a sporting event.
   7. spreadeagle 1832–
      transitive. Sport. To defeat completely, esp. by a considerable distance in a race.
   8. thresh 1852–
      transitive. To inflict a heavy defeat on (an army, nation, enemy, etc.) in a conflict or battle; to defeat (an opponent) easily or decisively in…
   9. whitewash 1867–
      transitive. colloquial (originally Baseball). In a game or contest: to beat (an opponent) in such a way that he or she fails to score. Also…
   10. blank 1870–
       To dismiss (a sports team) without a score; to prevent from scoring. North American.
   11. annihilate 1886–
       transitive. Sport. To defeat (an opponent) resoundingly or decisively.
   12. nip 1893–
       U.S. transitive. In a sporting contest: to defeat, esp. by a narrow margin.
   13. slam 1907–
       transitive. To beat by winning a slam; also dialect, to trump. Hence transferred, to beat completely.
   14. plaster 1919–
       transitive. slang. To defeat utterly; (esp. Boxing) to strike with repeated heavy blows.
   15. skittle 1919–
       To knock down (skittles, etc.); Cricket, to bowl out (batters) in rapid succession. Also figurative: to kill, defeat easily.
   16. rip 1927–
       transitive. U.S. Sport colloquial. To defeat (a competitor or team) overwhelmingly.
   17. maul 1928–
       transitive. In sport: to defeat (an opponent) utterly; to trounce.
   18. demolish 1938–
       figurative. transitive. colloquial (chiefly Sport). To defeat (a player, team, etc.) easily or overwhelmingly.
   19. massacre 1940–
       In weakened sense. transitive. Sport (originally U.S.). To defeat (a team or opponent) decisively.
   20. trounce 1942–
       To defeat heavily at a sport. colloquial.
   21. hammer 1948–
       figurative. To inflict heavy defeat(s) on, in war, games, etc.; to strike forcefully; to beat up. colloquial.
   22. murder 1952–
       transitive. slang (originally U.S.). To defeat (an opponent, rival, etc.) totally or resoundingly, esp. in a sporting match. Also in extended use.
   23. to shut out 1952–
       Baseball. (See quot. 1896. Cf. to shut out). Also transferred in other games and figurative. North American.
   24. zilch 1957–
       transitive. To defeat (an opponent in a game or match) such that their final score is zero. More generally: to defeat; to quash, to reduce to…
   25. zip 1964–
       transitive. U.S. colloquial. To defeat (an opponent in a game or match) without allowing them to score. Cf. zilch, v.
   26. trip 1974–
       spec. in U.S. Sport, to defeat.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/zɪp/
zip

### U.S. English

/zɪp/
zip

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye*
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

* /d/ also represents a 'tapped' /t/ as in

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- ifleece, happy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- ætrap, bath
- ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
- ɑrstart
- ɔcloth, thought
- ɔrnorth, force
- ʊfoot
- ugoose
- əstrut, comma
- ərnurse, letter
- ɪ(ə)rnear
- ɛ(ə)rsquare
- ʊ(ə)rcure
- eɪface
- aɪpride
- aʊmouth
- oʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ɑ̃gratin
- æ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.

##### Consonants

b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values

- gguy
- jjay
- yyore
- chchore
- khloch
- shshore
- ththaw
- dhthee
- zhbeige

##### Vowels

- atrap
- ahpalm
- airsquare
- arstart
- arrcarry (British only)
- awthought
- ayface
- a(ng)gratin
- edress
- eefleece
- eerdeer
- errmerry
- ikit
- ighpride
- irrmirror
- olot (British only)
- ohgoat
- oogoose
- oorcure
- orforce
- orrsorry (British only)
- owmouth
- oyvoice
- o(ng)salon
- ustrut
- uhletter
- urnurse
- urrhurry
- uufoot

Originally published as part of the entry for zip, v.¹

zip, v.² was revised in March 2021.

zip, v.² was last modified in December 2024.