different between zap vs jolt

English

Etymology

Onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zæp/
• Rhymes: -æp

Noun

zap (plural zaps)

1. (colloquial) A sound made by a sudden release of electricity or some similar energy.
2. (colloquial) An electric shock.

   You might feel a little zap touching a metal doorknob when the air is dry.

3. A raucous public demonstration designed to embarrass a public figure or celebrity as a form of political activism.
   • 1998, Raymond A. Smith, Encyclopedia of AIDS

     Black AIDS activists were caught in the middle of a nearly yearlong series of zaps.

   • 2011, Michael Schiavi, Celluloid Activist: The Life and Times of Vito Russo (page 84)

     When a zap at Brooklyn's Board of Education opened no dialogue on discrimination suffered by gay teachers, GAA targeted the BOE offices on April 13.

Translations

Verb

zap (third-person singular simple present zaps, present participle zapping, simple past and past participle zapped)

1. (intransitive) To make a zap sound.
2. To use a remote control to repeatedly change channels on a television.

   Synonyms: channel surf, channel hop

3. To strike (something or someone) with electricity or energy, as by shooting.

   They spent the whole movie zapping bad guys into oblivion.

4. (US, military, slang, transitive) To kill; to eliminate.
   • 1966, U.S. News & World Report (volume 61, page 32)

     Says a U. S. officer: "We zapped the enemy, now we intend to stick around. […]

5. To damage (especially electronics) with electrostatic discharge.

   I think they zapped the processor.

6. To heat (something) in a microwave oven.

   If it's not warm in the middle; zap it some more.

7. To delete or discard (electronic media).

   They zapped a lot of files before realizing they had not backed up lately.

8. To further energize or charge (magnetic material).

   They zapped my motor's magnets.

Descendants

Translations

Interjection

zap!

1. Representing the sound or action of a zap.

   Then the computer went zap and I lost all my work.

Translations

Dutch

Pronunciation

Verb

zap

1. first-person singular present indicative of zappen
2. imperative of zappen

Portuguese

Etymology

From the last part of "WhatsApp".

Noun

zap m (usually uncountable, plural zaps)

1. WhatsApp, the messaging service

English

Etymology

Perhaps from Middle English jollen (“to stagger, knock, batter”), itself perhaps a variant of Middle English chollen (“to strike, juggle, do tricks”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /d??lt/, IPA^(key): /d???lt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /d?o?lt/
• Rhymes: -?lt, -??lt

Verb

jolt (third-person singular simple present jolts, present participle jolting, simple past and past participle jolted)

1. (transitive) To push or shake abruptly and roughly.

   The bus jolted its passengers at every turn.

2. (transitive) To knock sharply
3. (transitive) To shock (someone) into taking action or being alert

   I jolted her out of complacency.

4. (transitive) To shock emotionally.

   Her untimely death jolted us all.

5. (intransitive) To shake; to move with a series of jerks.

   The car jolted along the stony path.

Derived terms

• jolter
• jolthead
• jolting
• joltproof
• jolty

Translations

Noun

jolt (plural jolts)

1. An act of jolting.
2. A surprise or shock.
3. (slang) A long prison sentence.
4. (slang) A narcotic injection.

Coordinate terms

• (prison sentence): bit

Translations

References