clapper
Americannoun
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a person who applauds.
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the tongue of a bell.
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Slang. the tongue.
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Usually clappers. two flat sticks held between the fingers and struck rhythmically against each other to produce abrupt, sharp sounds.
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Printing. a platen press.
noun
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a person or thing that claps
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a contrivance for producing a sound of clapping, as for scaring birds
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Also called: tongue. a small piece of metal suspended within a bell that causes it to sound when made to strike against its side
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a slang word for tongue
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informal to move extremely fast
Etymology
Origin of clapper
First recorded in 1250–1300, clapper is from the Middle English word claper. See clap 1, -er 1
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.
Careful not to ring it, I wrapped the old sheet around and around the clapper till it was stuffed tight within the bell.
From Literature
“That’s a clapper rail,” Mike said, an endangered bird that makes its home in the estuary.
From Los Angeles Times
“Maybe you could get a remote or a really passive aggressive clapper.”
From Los Angeles Times
When speaking to BBC News NI he brought along a clapper board, dog tag and Ranger Battalion jacket he kept from the set of Saving Private Ryan.
From BBC
That clapper, William Sherman, a retiree from the Beaverdale neighborhood of Des Moines, was more than happy to share his feeling.
From New York Times
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.
