1. To modify, usually to correct especially used when the action is PERformed with a debugger or binary patching tool. Also implies surgical precision. "Zap the debug level to 6 and run it again." In the IBMmainframe world, binary patches are applied to programs or to the oPERating system with a program called "suPERzap", whose file name is "IMASPZAP" (possibly contrived from I M A SuPERZAP). See also Zero and Add Packed. 2. To fry a chip with static electricity. "Uh oh - I think that lightning strike may have zapped the disk controller." (1998-07-08)