Advertisement
Advertisement
clap
1[ klap ]
verb (used with object)
- to strike the palms of (one's hands) against one another resoundingly, and usually repeatedly, especially to express approval:
She clapped her hands in appreciation.
- to strike (someone) amicably with a light, open-handed slap, as in greeting, encouragement, or the like:
He clapped his friend on the back.
- to strike (an object) against something quickly and forcefully, producing an abrupt, sharp sound, or a series of such sounds:
to clap a book on the table.
- to bring together forcefully (facing surfaces of the same object):
She clapped the book shut.
- to applaud (a performance, speech, speaker, etc.) by clapping the hands:
The audience clapped the actors at the end of the act.
- to put or place quickly or forcefully: She clapped her hand over his mouth.
Can you clap a lid on that jar?
She clapped her hand over his mouth.
They clapped him in jail.
- to make or arrange hastily (often followed by together or up ):
He clapped together dinner from stuff in the pantry and leftovers from the fridge.
verb (used without object)
- to clap the hands, as to express approval; applaud:
After the audience stopped clapping, the tenor sang two encores.
- to make an abrupt, sharp sound, as of flat surfaces striking against one another:
The shutters clapped in the wind.
- to move or strike with such a sound:
She clapped across the room in her slippers.
noun
- an act or instance of clapping.
- the abrupt, sharp sound produced by clapping.
- a resounding blow; slap.
- a loud and abrupt or explosive noise, as of thunder.
- a sudden stroke, blow, or act.
- Printing. clapper ( def 5 ).
- Obsolete. a sudden mishap.
verb phrase
- Slang. clapback.
clap
2[ klap ]
noun
- Often the clap. gonorrhea ( def ).
clap
1/ klæp /
verb
- to make or cause to make a sharp abrupt sound, as of two nonmetallic objects struck together
- to applaud (someone or something) by striking the palms of the hands together sharply
- tr to strike (a person) lightly with an open hand, in greeting, encouragement, etc
- tr to place or put quickly or forcibly
they clapped him into jail
- (of certain birds) to flap (the wings) noisily
- tr; foll by up or together to contrive or put together hastily
they soon clapped up a shed
- clap eyes on informal.to catch sight of
- clap hold of informal.to grasp suddenly or forcibly
noun
- the sharp abrupt sound produced by striking the hands together
- the act of clapping, esp in applause
he deserves a good clap
- a sudden sharp sound, esp of thunder
- a light blow
- archaic.a sudden action or mishap
clap
2/ klæp /
noun
- the clapa slang word for gonorrhoea
Word History and Origins
Origin of clap1
Origin of clap2
Word History and Origins
Origin of clap1
Origin of clap2
Idioms and Phrases
- clap hold of, Nautical. to take hold of.
- clap eyes on. eye ( def 42 ).
Example Sentences
Researchers thought the wing clap likely formed a pocket of air that shoots out like a jet.
The pocket shape “dramatically improves the clap by trapping more air and creating a stronger jet.”
Researchers thought they knew how the clap worked, he notes.
Previous research had suggested that a butterfly’s overhead wing clap forces the insect forward.
He once joked to The Washington Post that it was “a little bit like saying you have the clap.”
Which is why you should: “Clap along, if you feel like a room without a roof.”
The music drifted through the rain and the woman started to clap her hands and dance.
Like, clap-my-hands-together-in-schoolgirl-like-glee over the moon to see it.
No one applauded–rare on a night when hands tend to clap after every cough and sneeze.
Everyone stood up to clap in his honor, including Mao himself.
"We have a grandfather in Greenfield," spoke up the youngest child before his sister could clap her hand over his mouth.
But ten thousand saw Musa's hand clap to hilt, and Iftikhar's lance half fall to rest.
Viscount Melbourne expressed himself to the effect that the Earl of Ripon's motion came like a thunder-clap upon him.
You had a very fair clap-trap against us, as we happened to be master manufacturers, in saying that we wanted to reduce wages.
You can't clap a new head on to old shoulders without upsetting circulation and equilibrium.
Advertisement
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.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse