claptrap

American  

[klap-trap] / ˈklæpˌtræp /

noun

1. pretentious but insincere or empty language.

   His speeches seem erudite but analysis reveals them to be mere claptrap.

   Synonyms:

   bunk, nonsense, hokum, humbug, sham

2. any artifice or expedient for winning applause or impressing the public.

---

claptrap British  

/ ˈklæpˌtræp /

noun

1. contrived but foolish talk

2. insincere and pretentious talk

   politicians' claptrap

---

Etymology

Origin of claptrap

First recorded in 1720–30; clap ¹ + trap ¹

Explanation

Use the word claptrap when you're talking about overblown nonsense. You might read your English professor's new book and secretly feel that it's nothing but claptrap. Writing that's grandiose or boastful is one kind of claptrap, and a ridiculous or absurd speech is another. Most claptrap involves ornate ways of talking or writing, involving rhetorical flourishes and a lack of deep meaning. The word comes from the idea of "a trick to 'catch' applause," and its meaning evolved to mean "showy, cheap talk" and also, to some degree, "nonsense."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

claptrap

For all these women, it took having terrible, even traumatizing experiences in these movements to make them realize that perhaps it’s not feminist claptrap to believe in equal rights and bodily autonomy.

From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026

And even as I try to dress it up here with some kind of detached, anthropological pseudo-intellectual claptrap, I’m still jumping straight into the muddy pigpile that’s been going on for weeks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

For all the claptrap over the decades about booting people out, this country’s leaders quickly realize their error and bust out the proverbial welcome mat just as quickly.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2024

Or, for that matter, the high-concept claptrap offered up at Marni, where Francesco Risso went on a quest to top his immersive be-in of last season with entirely apposite results.

From New York Times ● Feb. 27, 2022

My socks balled up on the hardwood floor made a greater statement than any of their hokey claptrap with the carefully matted frames and big curly signatures in the lower left-hand corners.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris