Zap means to strike, destroy, or affect something suddenly and powerfully, like a bolt of lightning or a blast of energy. When you zap a bug with a fly swatter, you hit it fast and hard. When a video game character zaps an enemy with a laser beam, they defeat it instantly with a burst of energy.

The word captures that sense of speed and force. Microwave ovens zap food with radiation to heat it up quickly. A remote control can zap through TV channels, jumping from one to another in an instant. Some people say they feel zapped of energy after a long day, as if something drained their strength all at once.

Zap often appears in comic books and science fiction because it sounds like the noise an energy weapon might make: “Zap! Pow!” It's a word that feels as quick and punchy as the action it describes.