zappinghttp://www.oed.com/dictionary/zapping_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_usezapping, n.
First published 1986; not fully revised

zappingnoun

slang.
  1. 1972–
    The action of zap v.; spec. the practice of skipping advertisements when watching television programmes.
    1. 1972
      I wouldn't take the zapping he has taken, to use the contemporary word, for a million dollars.
      Daily Colonist (Victoria, British Columbia) 8 January 17/7
    2. 1983
      The practice is known in the US as ‘zapping’. Apparently people who have remote control devices are substantially more likely..to switch over to another channel when ads come on.
      Times 27 October 8/3
    3. 1983
      You could add suitable sound-effects to an applications program—zapping noises as a word processor deletes characters, maybe?
      Australian Personal Computer November 32/2
    4. 1984
      For the ITV companies there is the additional problem of ‘zapping’ to contend with—the habitual use of the fast-forward button to bypass the commercial breaks in recorded material.
      Listener 9 February 14/2

zapping, n. was first published in 1986; not fully revised.

zapping, n. was last modified in December 2024.