Zapped out

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Meaning

Totally exhausted or drained.

Origin

From 20th-century America, tied to 'zap'; 1920s slang for a sudden hit, boosted by sci-fi 'ray guns' in 1930s pulps. By the 1960s, 'zapped out' meant fried, as in a 1968 hippie zine on crash after highs. It reflects a TV-and-tech age of overload, growing into a zippy idiom of depletion in a wired world.

Variants

  • Zapped

Usage Examples

  • After that shift, I'm zapped out; need a nap.
  • She's zapped out from scrolling all night.
  • Finals left him zapped out; no brain left!

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