What it means
Means totally drained and out of juice. You'd say it when tired feels too soft and both your brain and body have basically shut the shop. It's close to zapped, wiped, shattered, or knackered, with that extra dead-battery vibe of don't ask me for a thing right now.
Usage examples
"I’m zapped out, mate. Took the kids to the park, pushed swings, then legged it after a rogue football. Can’t even text back now."
"After moving day from the old flat to the new place I was completely zapped out, sat on a cardboard box drinking lukewarm tea, the boyfriend ordered pizza without me even asking."
"The twins kept us up till four in the morning with the teething drama, both parents zapped out by eight am, the grandma showed up with coffee and silently took over the morning shift."
"I was already zapped out after work, then the train got cancelled and that finished me off proper."
"We did one IKEA run and somehow turned it into a full-day mission. I'm fully zapped out now."
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Where it comes from
It grows out of zap, the punchy sound-effect word for a sudden hit of energy, electricity, or force. By the mid 20th century, zapped was being used for someone wiped out or mentally blasted. Zapped out just leans harder into that fully drained, power's-gone feeling.
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