Try Our Apps
Dictionary.com

follow Dictionary.com

The Best Internet Slang

backslapping

[bak-slap-ing] /ˈbækˌslæp ɪŋ/
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
noun
1.
the practice of making a loud and effusive display of friendliness, cordiality, etc., as by slapping persons on the back.
Origin of backslapping
1770-1780
First recorded in 1770-80; back1 + slapping
Related forms
backslapper, noun

backslap

[bak-slap] /ˈbækˌslæp/
verb (used with object), backslapped, backslapping.
1.
to subject to backslapping.
verb (used without object), backslapped, backslapping.
2.
to engage in backslapping.
noun
3.
a hearty slap on the back given as a token of affability or congratulation:
The bridegroom received many a warm handshake and backslap.
Origin
First recorded in 1925-30; back1 + slap1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2017.
Cite This Source
Examples from the Web for back-slapping
Historical Examples

  • Isn't the thing he lacks the back-slapping jocosity that passes for humor here?

    Main Street Sinclair Lewis

  • Only the Governor's back-slapping mediation had allowed them to reach a politically stable relationship.

    A Mixture of Genius Arnold Castle

  • Such hand-shaking and back-slapping and outcries of honest pleasure as greeted him!

    Grenfell: Knight-Errant of the North Fullerton Waldo

  • Here happened that accident of the back-slapping so frequently alluded to by her ladyship.

    All Sorts and Conditions of Men Walter Besant

  • Loud, back-slapping men, gabbling endlessly about baseball players.

    A Book of Burlesques

         H. L. Mencken
British Dictionary definitions for back-slapping

back-slapping

adjective
1.
energetically jovial; hearty
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cite This Source
Slang definitions & phrases for back-slapping

back-slapping

adjective

Demonstratively friendly: the back-slapping jocosity that passes for humor here (1777+)

The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.
Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
Cite This Source

Word of the Day

Difficulty index for backslapping

Few English speakers likely know this word

Word Value for back

12
14
Scrabble Words With Friends

Nearby words for back-slapping

EVERYTHING AFTER Z