zapper
/ˈzæp.ə(ɹ)/noun
zapper is a noun meaning “A remote control for a television” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled Z-A-P-P-E-R and has 2 syllables, and it appears about once in every 6 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data). The plural of zapper is zappers.
What does zapper mean?
noun
- 1
colloquialA remote control for a television.
The news is starting on the other channel; hand me the zapper.
- 2
colloquialA device that electrifies or electrocutes.
- 3
colloquialAnything that exterminates.
- 4
slangA microwave oven.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce zapper?
- UK /ˈzæp.ə(ɹ)/
Zapper has 2 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-zapper.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of zapper
- zappers plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is zapper?
Zapper appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 75,877th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Zapper in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | zapette, zappette |
| German | Fernbedienung , Elektroschocker, Elektroschockgerät , Vernichter |
| Spanish | mando a distancia |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does zapper come from?
From zap + -er.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).