zap, n.

zap
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zap_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1986; not fully revised

# zapnoun

## Earlier version

- zap, n. in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zap mean?

There are five meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun zap. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

zap has developed meanings and uses in subjects including

optics (1970s) electrical (1970s) computing (1980s)

#### Entry status

OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.

### How common is the noun zap?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

2017 | 0.19
2018 | 0.18
2019 | 0.18
2020 | 0.18
2021 | 0.18
2022 | 0.17
2023 | 0.17
2024 | 0.17

### How is the noun zap pronounced?

#### British English

/zap/
zap

#### U.S. English

/zæp/
zap

### Where does the noun zap come from?

Earliest known use

1960s

The earliest known use of the noun zap is in the 1960s.

OED's earliest evidence for zap is from 1968, in New York Times.

It is also recorded as an exclamation from the 1920s.

zap is formed within English, by conversion.

Etymons: zap v., zap int.

### Nearby entries

1. zaniness, n. 1933–
2. Zante, n. 1615–
3. Zantedeschia, n. 1836–
4. ZANU, n. 1963–
5. zany, n. & adj. 1582–
6. zany, v. 1602–1894
7. zanyish, adj. 1843–
8. zanyism, n. 1823–
9. zanyship, n. 1766–1839
10. Zanzibari, n. & adj. 1882–
11. zap, n.1968–
12. zap, v. 1942–
13. zap, int. 1929–
14. Zapata, n. 1962–
15. zapateado, n. 1845–
16. Zapatism, n. 1911–
17. Zapatismo, n. 1913–
18. Zapatist, n. & adj. 1911–
19. Zapatista, n. & adj. 1911–
20. zapote, n. 1842–
21. Zapotec, n. & adj. 1797–

## Etymology

### Summary

Formed within English, by conversion.
< zap v., zap int.

## Meaning & use

slang (originally U.S.).

1. 1.
   1968–
   Liveliness, energy, power, drive; also, a strong emotional effect.
   1. 1968

      > When the heat's too much and the gin's lost its zap.., tranquilize your jangled nerves with the Swinging Wonder.

      New York Times 2 August 3
   2. 1972

      > As for those lyrics—probably only the over-30s will dig them. Anyone older or younger won't grasp the ‘organic’ zap of rock's years of innocence.

      Publishers Weekly 6 March 62/2
   3. 1975

      > The zap of his language drawn from every dialect of the underground.

      Harpers & Queen May 128/3
   4. 1979

      > She loves sports, especially skiing, but found she had lost some of her old zap.

      Chatelaine (Canada) January 50
   5. 1984

      > He gives the film a manic zap.

      New Yorker 16 April 141/1
   U.S. English colloquial and slang
   1. greenness Old English–
      Vigour or freshness of growth; vitality. Also figurative. Cf. green, adj. A.II.9. Now rare.
   2. lustiness c1325–
      Vigour, robustness; †energy, activity.
   3. force a1375–1816
      Physical strength, might, or vigour, as an attribute of living beings (occasionally of liquor). Rarely in plural (= French forces). Obsolete.
   4. vigour c1386–
      Active physical strength as an attribute or quality of living things; active force or power… In persons, animals, or their limbs.
   5. virr c1575–
      Force, vigour, energy.
   6. vigour 1602–
      Active physical strength as an attribute or quality of living things; active force or power… Const. of (life, etc.). Sometimes with implication of 2…
   7. nerve 1605–1874
      Strength, vigour, energy. Obsolete.
   8. vivacity 1649–1792
      transferred and figurative. Active force, power, vigour.
   9. vis 1650–
      Strength, force, energy, vigour.
   10. actuosity 1660–
       Abundant activity; energy.
   11. amenity 1661–1750
       Vigorousness, vigour. Obsolete.
   12. vogue 1674
       Vigour or energy. Obsolete. rare.
   13. energy 1783–
       As a quality of movement, activity, speech, art, etc.: vigour; intensity; forcefulness.
   14. smeddum 1790–
       Scottish. Spirit, pith, ‘go’; alertness of mind and vigour in action; energy.
   15. dash 1796–
       Spirited vigour of action; capacity for prompt and vigorous action.
   16. throughput 1808–
       Scottish. Capacity for work; energy, vigour.
   17. feck 1811–
       Operative value, efficacy, efficiency (cf. effect, n. 2a). Hence also: vigour, energy.
   18. go 1825–
       colloquial. Originally of a horse: capacity to go fast or well; physical vigour or stamina; motive power.
   19. steam 1826–
       figurative. Energy, ‘go’, driving power, and the like.
   20. jism 1842–
       Energy, strength.
   21. vim 1843–
       Force or vigour, energy, ‘go’. †Also as adv., vigorously, sharply.
   22. animalism 1848–
       The exercise of the animal faculties. With positive connotations: natural animal behaviour and activity; physicality; physical energy.
   23. fizz 1856–
       Animal spirits or ‘go’.
   24. jasm 1860–
       Energy, spirit, ‘pep’; = jism, n. 1.
   25. verve 1863–
       In general use: Energy, vigour, spirit.
   26. snap 1865–
       Alertness, energy, vigour, ‘go’. Originally U.S.
   27. sawdust a1873–
       transferred and figurative. (Sometimes with reference to the use of sawdust for stuffing dolls or puppets.)
   28. élan 1880–
       In English use chiefly abstract: Ardour, impetuousness, vivacity.
   29. stingo 1885–
       figurative. Vigour, energy, vim; to give (a person) hot stingo = to give it hot at give, v. phrases XIV.46a ? Obsolete.
   30. energeticism 1891–
       The quality or condition of being energetic. rare.
   31. sprawl 1894–
       dialect and U.S. Activity, energy, go.
   32. zip 1899–
       colloquial (originally U.S.). Energy, vigour; liveliness.
   33. pep 1908–
       Energy and high spirits; liveliness, vigour, power.
   34. jazz 1912–
       U.S. slang. Energy, excitement, ‘pep’; restlessness; animation, excitability. Now rare.
   35. zoom 1926–
       colloquial. Zest, vivacity, vigour; zip; gusto. Cf. zoom, int., vavoom, n.
   36. toe 1963–
       Australian and New Zealand slang. Speed, energy.
   37. zap 1968–
       Liveliness, energy, power, drive; also, a strong emotional effect.
   38. stank 1997–
       figurative. Force or intensity of expression or action; aggression. Also in popular music (esp. funk): unrestrained energy, passion, and…
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. sensation 1807–1905
      A strong emotion (e.g. fear, excitement, or shock) provoked by a particular situation, event, experience, etc. Obsolete.
   2. sock 1936–
      U.S. slang. A strong impact, emphasis, a ‘kick’.
   3. zap 1968–
      Liveliness, energy, power, drive; also, a strong emotional effect.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
2. 2.
   1972–
   A demonstration (by a group against something).
   1. 1972

      > Despite six zaps, New York's Mayor Lindsay has consistently refused to meet with any homosexual delegation.

      Saturday Review (U.S.) 12 February 26
   2. 1974

      > A demonstration, alternatively described as a community action or a zap, had been planned..in Brixton's Tesco supermarket.

      Times 7 October 12/3
   U.S. English colloquial and slang
   1. protesting 1582–
      The action of protest, v. (in various senses); solemn declaration; objection, esp. (later) as expressed in a public demonstration; (also) an…
   2. demonstration 1839–
      A public march or rally expressing an opinion about a political or other issue; esp. one in protest against or support of something. Cf. demo, n.² 1.
   3. manifestation 1875–
      = demonstration, n. 7.
   4. demo 1904–
      A public march or rally in protest against or in support of something; = demonstration, n. 7.
   5. march 1908–
      A procession organized as a protest, or other demonstration of public opinion, to support a cause, or to draw attention to a particular problem, etc…
   6. protest march 1914–
      = march, n.⁵ II.2e.
   7. zap 1972–
      A demonstration (by a group against something).
   View in Historical Thesaurus
3. 3.
   1983–
   Computing. A change in a program.
   1. 1983

      > I would like to provide the following zaps to TRSDOS 1·3 for the Model III. To provide a 30ms track stepping rate you must change the nine bytes listed below.

      80 Microcomputing January 29/1
   computing U.S. English colloquial and slang
   1. zapping 1972–
      The action of zap, v.; spec. the practice of skipping advertisements when watching television programmes.
   2. zap 1983–
      Computing. A change in a program.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
4. 4.
   1984–
   A short, varying sound of the kind expressed by ‘zap!’.
   1. 1984

      > The whir of the flippers—pin-ball machines—the zaps of the video games.

      Verbatim vol. 10 iii. 17/2
   U.S. English colloquial and slang
   1. peal 1535–
      A loud outburst or volley of sound, esp. of laughter or thunder.
   2. thud a1586–1796
      A loud sound, as of a clap of thunder, or the discharge of a cannon. Scottish. Obsolete.
   3. bouncing 1598–1652
      The making of loud, explosive noise; banging.
   4. ran-tan 1607–
      Representing a loud and repetitive banging noise, esp. that made by knocking or drumming.
   5. sulfur?1611–16
      Applied to thunder and lightning, a discharge of gunpowder, etc. Obs.
   6. burst a1616–
      A sudden and violent issuing forth. Chiefly of light and sounds. So also a burst of flame, a burst of fish (in local use).
   7. stound 1627–
      Roar, violent noise.
   8. randan a1661–
      Usually in form rantan. A loud banging noise; a loud knocking, drumming, or rapping; a din. Now English regional (northern and midlands).
   9. break 1751–
      A noise or noisy disturbance; a burst or outbreak of sound. Now somewhat rare.
   10. flare 1815–
       The action or quality of flaring, or giving forth a dazzling and unsteady light; dazzling but irregular light, like that of torches; a sudden…
   11. slam-banging 1823–
   12. bang 1854–
       A sudden, violent or explosive noise; e.g. the report of fire-arms.
   13. spang 1883–
       A sound resulting from such movement.
   14. whoomph 1891–
       A sudden, violent rushing sound; a forceful thudding sound.
   15. ka-boom 1965–
       A loud bang or boom, as of an explosion.
   16. zap 1984–
       A short, varying sound of the kind expressed by ‘zap!’.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

### Additional sense (1993)

1. 1979–
   U.S. colloquial. A charge or bolt, as of electricity; a beam or burst of radiation from a laser, etc.
   1. 1979

      > He would get zaps of sunlight in his face.

      T. Wolfe, Right Stuff x. 263
   2. 1979

      > If the transformers were perfect you would get precisely the 110 volts you wanted and could care less about the big zap lurking outside.

      Modern Photography October 68
   3. 1982

      > How do you drill a hole in the diamond? This was a wearying process before the laser came along, but now a simple zap suffices.

      J. Purcell, From Hand Ax to Laser xi. 289
   4. 1991

      > When Alvarez published his theories, people snapped them up because they explained everything in one great iridium zap.

      Discover March 56/2
   optics electrical U.S. English colloquial and slang
   1. electromagnetic pulse 1899–
      A pulse of electromagnetic energy, esp. a powerful one emitted by a nuclear explosion or nuclear weapon; cf. EMP, n.
   2. spike 1969–
      (a) An electrical pulse of very short duration in which a rapid increase in voltage is followed immediately by a rapid decrease; (b) a burst of…
   3. zap 1979–
      U.S. colloquial. A charge or bolt, as of electricity; a beam or burst of radiation from a laser, etc.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. electricity 1646–
      In early use: the property of amber, glass, and certain other substances of attracting lightweight objects when rubbed (cf. electric, adj. A.1a)…
   2. charge 1747–
      An accumulation of electricity stored in an electric battery, capacitor, etc. Also: an amount of chemical energy that is available for conversion…
   3. electrical charge 1747–
      A quantity of electricity; an excess of one or other kind of electricity (positive or negative) on or in an object; cf. electric charge, n.
   4. tension 1785–
      The stress along lines of force in a dielectric. Formerly applied also to surface density of electric charge, and until about 1882 used vaguely…
   5. Q 1846–
      Physics. (Usually italicized.) In mathematical expressions: electric charge; a charged particle.
   6. point charge 1896–
      An electric charge regarded as concentrated in a mathematical point, without spatial extent.
   7. nuclear charge 1913–
      The electric charge on the nucleus of an atom.
   8. zap 1979–
      U.S. colloquial. A charge or bolt, as of electricity; a beam or burst of radiation from a laser, etc.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. zap 1979–
      U.S. colloquial. A charge or bolt, as of electricity; a beam or burst of radiation from a laser, etc.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/zap/
zap

### U.S. English

/zæp/
zap

####

##### 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

## Frequency

zap typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

zap is in frequency band 2, which contains words occurring between 0.001 and 0.01 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands

Frequency data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### Frequency of zap, n., 1960–2010

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.

The overall frequency for a given word is calculated by summing frequencies for the main form of the word, any plural or inflected forms, and any major spelling variations.

For sets of homographs (distinct entries that share the same word-form, e.g. mole, n.¹, mole, n.², mole, n.³, etc.), we have estimated the frequency of each homograph entry as a fraction of the total Ngrams frequency for the word-form. This may result in inaccuracies.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the Google Books corpus.

Decade | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
1960 | 0.0022
1970 | 0.0026
1980 | 0.0029
1990 | 0.0029
2000 | 0.0033
2010 | 0.0037

### Frequency of zap, n., 2017–2024

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Modern frequency series are derived from a corpus of 20 billion words, covering the period from 2017 to the present. The corpus is mainly compiled from online news sources, and covers all major varieties of World English.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the corpus.

Period | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
2017 | 0.19
2018 | 0.18
2019 | 0.18
2020 | 0.18
2021 | 0.18
2022 | 0.17
2023 | 0.17
2024 | 0.17

## Compounds & derived words

Sort by

1. zappy, adj. 1969–
   Lively, amusing, energetic; striking.

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

zap, n. was last modified in June 2024.