as in to hit
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
zapped the annoying bug with a swatter
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of zap
Even with Slack zapping the number of emails sent, most people still waste so much time sifting through their inboxes.
—
semafor.com, 9 Jan. 2026
The alcohol will zap the oily residue and grime left by a human hand.
—Alicia Chilton, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Dec. 2025
That happened three times this season, and two of them zapped the Chiefs’ chances to win a game.
—Sam McDowell December 15, Kansas City Star, 15 Dec. 2025
Ride-hailing doesn’t fit so much into his busy lifestyle with small children and sports, but what does zap a lot of time?
—Jackie Charniga, USA Today, 10 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for zap
semafor.com, 9 Jan. 2026
The alcohol will zap the oily residue and grime left by a human hand.
—Alicia Chilton, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Dec. 2025
That happened three times this season, and two of them zapped the Chiefs’ chances to win a game.
—Sam McDowell December 15, Kansas City Star, 15 Dec. 2025
Ride-hailing doesn’t fit so much into his busy lifestyle with small children and sports, but what does zap a lot of time?
—Jackie Charniga, USA Today, 10 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for zap
Recent Examples of Synonyms for zap
Verb
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As former agent and cap expert Joel Corry told me, the amount that Ross agrees to pay of Tagovailoa’s 2026 salary (for a new team) would not have much effect on his Dolphins’ dead money cap hit provided the trade is made after June 1.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
13 Feb. 2026
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Some of the students at Naperville North tried to mimic the coach’s actions, working on their technique, while other appeared to be more focused on hitting the ball to their friend as hard as possible.—
Carolyn Stein,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The memo, which the AP reported is being used to train new officers amid an aggressive expansion of immigration arrests, has fueled confusion and fear about what rights actually apply when ICE comes knocking.—
Dante Motley,
Austin American Statesman,
10 Feb. 2026
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The former is a ring on the bottom of the rock that skids across the ice, and the latter is a band around the sides of the rock that collides with other rocks (ideally knocking an opponent’s rock off the bull’s-eye or nudging your team’s closer to it).—
Andrea Thompson,
Scientific American,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But tens of thousands of films are made each year, and quite a few of them break the rules, defy conventional narrative expectations and smack us deep in our souls.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
8 Feb. 2026
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Shepard attached the head of a 6-iron golf club to his sample collecting tool and was recorded smacking a couple golf balls across the lunar landscape.—
Arizona Republic,
AZCentral.com,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Brookwood junior Collier Stanton extended his arm to the wall, glanced at the scoreboard and slapped the water as his older brother, Baylor, pumped his fist behind the block.—
Ansley Gavlak,
AJC.com,
8 Feb. 2026
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Having already tied his career-high in 3-pointers made, Fielder only had eyes for the basket, even as New Mexico’s Tomislav Buljan slapped through the back of his arm and drew the referee’s whistle.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Abigail Boyd, an opposition Green lawmaker in the state parliament, said she had been punched by officers while attempting to vacate the site.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
10 Feb. 2026
-
But McCalla then got up, pursued Mudd and punched him.—
Bay Area News Group,
Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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And Peters has been banging his head on his desk trying to get Congress to use it.—
Josh Tyrangiel,
The Atlantic,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Anthropic’s lunchroom, downstairs, was where Claude banged its head against walls in real life.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Attendees will hear a live children’s choir and be encouraged to clap along and participate in the show.—
Michael Butler,
Miami Herald,
5 Feb. 2026
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Before Northwestern’s game with Michigan at Wrigley Field last November, an NU student reporter sitting next to me in the press box suddenly began clapping.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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When players from the United States and Czechia whacked their sticks on the ice in unison during warmups, the sound rattled out like a shot.—
The Sports Desk,
NBC news,
5 Feb. 2026
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Walker is making $20 million this season and whacked a team-leading 27 home runs in 2025.—
Chandler Rome,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Zap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/zap. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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