slap
1 Americannoun
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a sharp blow or smack, especially with the open hand or with something flat.
-
a sound made by or as if by such a blow or smack.
the slap of the waves against the dock.
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a sharply worded or sarcastic rebuke or comment.
verb (used with object)
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to strike sharply, especially with the open hand or with something flat.
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to bring (the hand, something flat, etc.) with a sharp blow against something.
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to dash or cast forcibly.
He slapped the package against the wall.
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to put or place promptly and sometimes haphazardly (often followed byon ).
The officer slapped a ticket on the car. He slapped mustard on the sandwich.
adverb
verb phrase
idioms
noun
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a gap or opening, as in a fence, wall, cloud bank, or line of troops.
-
a mountain pass.
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a wound or gash.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
a sharp blow or smack, as with the open hand, something flat, etc
-
the sound made by or as if by such a blow
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a sharp rebuke; reprimand
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informal sexual play
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an insult or rebuff
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congratulation
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a light punishment or reprimand
verb
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(tr) to strike (a person or thing) sharply, as with the open hand or something flat
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(tr) to bring down (the hand, something flat, etc) sharply
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to strike (something) with or as if with a slap
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informal (tr) to apply in large quantities, haphazardly, etc
she slapped butter on the bread
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to congratulate
adverb
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exactly; directly
slap on time
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forcibly or abruptly
to fall slap on the floor
Synonym Usage
See blow 1.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of slap1
First recorded in 1625–35; from Low German slapp(e); of expressive origin
Origin of slap2
First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English slop(e) “inroad made into enemy ranks,” from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German; cognate with German Schlupf “hiding place”
Explanation
To slap someone is to hit them with the palm of your open hand. It's not nice to slap your sister, no matter how mad you are. A smack or open-handed blow is a slap, and you can also describe the sound it makes—or a similar sound—as a slap. You could describe the slap of water against the side of your rowboat, or say that your mom slaps her magazine against the table when she's done reading. Slap is also an informal adverb, meaning "immediately" or "directly:" "Sneaking out of class, he ran slap into the principal."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It’s a stinging insult: By the samurai code, Kanbei should be killed, not imprisoned — Murashige couldn’t have landed a more devastating slap than by letting him live.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
Mayor Karen Bass decried the application as “a slap in the face” to the families of Boyle Heights.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Vice President JD Vance told the mourners Graham was an affable, gregarious politician who would slap Senate colleagues on the back and had a passion for engaging opponents in "swashbuckling" debate.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
PC Harper's mother Debbie Adlam said it felt "like a slap in the face"
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
The horn kept going, long and sharp, covering the sound of the passenger door opening and the slap of hard shoes.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
I was slapped with a bill for $1,022 for this year’s tests.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Air regulators have slapped Lineage Logistics with multiple violations related to the putrid odor at its Boyle Heights facility after receiving more than 720 complaints from residents since Sunday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
The label gets slapped on funds that do not agree on what “green” or “responsible” even means, and two ESG funds can hold completely different companies.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
As part of a major push to target big tech abuses, the EU slapped the Mountain View company with fines worth a total of 8.2 billion euros between 2017 and 2019 over antitrust violations.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
She flinched, as if she’d just slapped herself with those words, then bounded off, heaving herself ungracefully over the garden fence.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
The world's tech giants have already begun slapping their own labels in anticipation of the rules.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
“Science class starts… NOW!” the company posted on Facebook, noting that a moose has 6-foot antlers “for defending territory,” while a beaver has a flat tail “for slapping water.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
The statement noted that China suspended imports of atemoyas in 2021, citing pest concerns, before partially resuming imports in 2023 and then slapping taxes on the fruit in 2024.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Home plate umpire Dan Iassogna called a third strike, but Madrigal argued with the umpire, emphatically slapping his head.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026
Candace said, slapping her panda lunch box on the table.
From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
