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zapper

to channel-surf, to zap

verb zah-PEH Rare
Arts & Culture Performance

Also means

to skip, switch quickly

Usage Note

Zapper is a direct borrowing from English 'zap' and refers to switching TV channels rapidly with a remote. By extension, it means to skip quickly from one thing to another (zapper d'un sujet à l'autre). The noun zapping (also borrowed) describes the habit of channel-surfing. It is informal and very common in everyday French.

Examples

"Il zappe sans arrêt entre les chaînes."

Natural Translation

He keeps channel-surfing non-stop.

Literal Translation

He zaps non-stop between the channels.

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