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• sap
  sap

  noun

  the juice or vital circulating fluid of a plant, especially of a woody plant.
• SAP
  SAP

  abbreviation

  South African Police

sap

¹ American  

[sap] / sæp /

noun

1. the juice or vital circulating fluid of a plant, especially of a woody plant.

2. any vital body fluid.

3. energy; vitality.

4. sapwood.

5. Slang. a fool; sucker; dupe.

6. Metallurgy. soft metal at the core of a bar of blister steel.

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verb (used with object)

sapped, sapping

1. to drain the sap from.

sap ² American  

[sap] / sæp /

noun

1. Fortification. a deep, narrow trench constructed so as to form an approach to a besieged place or an enemy's position.

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verb (used with object)

sapped, sapping

1. to undermine; gradually or insidiously weaken or destroy.

   Synonyms:

   undermine, weaken, tire, impair, exhaust, enfeeble, enervate, drain, deplete

2. Fortification.

   1. to approach (a besieged place or an enemy position) by means of deep, narrow trenches protected by gabions or parapets.

   2. to dig such trenches in (ground).

verb (used without object)

sapped, sapping

1. Fortification. to dig a sap.

sap ³ American  

[sap] / sæp /

noun

1. a short club with a heavy tip that is used as a weapon; blackjack; bludgeon.

   The burglar carried a set of lockpicks and a sap.

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verb (used with object)

1. to hit (someone) with a club.

   If he tries to sneak out, I'll sap him over the head.

sap ¹ British  

/ sæp /

noun

1. a solution of mineral salts, sugars, etc, that circulates in a plant

2. any vital body fluid

3. energy; vigour

4. slang a gullible or foolish person

5. another name for sapwood

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verb

1. to drain of sap

SAP ² British  

abbreviation

1. South African Police

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SAP ³ British  

/ sæp /

acronym

1. Standard Assessment Procedure, the recognized performance indicator for measuring energy efficiency in buildings

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sap ⁴ British  

/ sæp /

noun

1. a deep and narrow trench used to approach or undermine an enemy position, esp in siege warfare

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verb

1. to undermine (a fortification, etc) by digging saps

2. (tr) to weaken

sap Scientific  

/ săp /

1. The watery fluid that circulates through a plant that has vascular tissues. Sap moving up the xylem carries water and minerals, while sap moving down the phloem carries water and food.

2. See cell sap

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Other Word Forms

• sapless
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of sap¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English sæp; cognate with Dutch sap; akin to German Saft juice, Old Norse safi; sap ¹ in def. 5 a shortening of saphead

Origin of sap²

First recorded in 1585–95; from French noun sape “spade, spadework,” derivative of saper “to dig a trench,” from Italian zappare “to undermine,” a military term, based on zappa “hoe”

Origin of sap³

First recorded in 1895–1900; perhaps shortening of sapling or sapwood (used as a tool or weapon)

Explanation

To sap something is to drain or deplete something over time. If you sap a maple tree, you drain the liquid inside it to make maple syrup. But if you sap a person of strength, you've rendered him defenseless. Whether used as a noun or verb, sap is rarely a good thing. If your energy or will is sapped, it’s not meant lightly; it means you have been exhausted of all your reserve energy, you’re reduced to a shell. If someone calls you "a sap," it suggests you lack strength and character. And if you get sap — the sticky liquid inside a tree — on your hands, good luck getting it off in the middle of a forest without a bar of soap and running water. Yuck.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sap SAP sapped sapping

Giant hogweed contains a sap which can leave painful blistering and scarring when it comes into contact with human skin.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

One such chemical is sulfoxaflor, a next generation pesticide introduced in 2013 to eliminate sap feeding insects such as aphids on crops including soybeans and corn.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026

Before, Ahmad could tap — meaning to cut incisions in the acacia trees, which exude sap that a few weeks later hardens into nodules of Hashab gum — four orchards in one go.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026

It could sap companies of a financial buffer if their core businesses struggle while they are still waiting for the AI bonanza to materialize.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026

You could see where the holes in his sole had been patched up with sap and scavenged leather.

From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline

In addition, the analysts flag a likely deceleration in constant-currency backlog growth, estimating SAP will end the year at 24% organic growth versus the 26% figure from June.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

Find insight on TSMC, ASML, SAP and more in the latest Market Talks covering technology, media and telecom.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

SAP stock slumped on Wednesday, making it the worst-performing large-cap European stock, after a UBS analyst criticized the German database giant’s slow rollout of artificial-intelligence-based tools.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

Executives quickly pulled its entire SAP system, which tracks everything from financial to human-resource matters, offline to assess the damage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

SAP, s. liquid of any kind taken to solids.

From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume XXIV. by Alexander Leighton

In turn, Williamsburg has been sapped of all its affordability, and increasingly, its cool factor.

From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026

And in the last quarter-century, relentless drought intensified by climate change has sapped the river’s flow and left its reservoirs severely depleted.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

The recent repeated heatwaves have sapped moisture from soils and vegetation via evaporation, which has in turn increased demand for water for farming, industry and household use.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

The king of Ithaca’s pride in his ingenious trick is steadily sapped by a series of cosmic punishments.

From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026

The machinations of European powers and the funny mustached German dictator were as remote to our island in the fall of 1941 as Silas Marner, which sapped our energies through eighth-grade English.

From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson

How rapidly are China’s EVs sapping oil demand?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

What it suggests is each rally is sapping more and more strength from the bulls.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 19, 2026

Rising bond yields around the world are sapping investors’ appetite for stocks, interrupting a chip-stock rally that fueled major stock indexes to fresh highs this week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

But this has been a recurring issue throughout a sapping campaign as goalkeeper Ramsdale needed no reminding.

From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2026

He had strained himself from a too long lack of sleep and food; and the excitement was sapping his energy.

From "Native Son" by Richard Wright

Related Words

• blunt
• deplete
• destroy
• drain
• erode
• exhaust
• impair
• ruin
• undermine
• vitiate
• wreck