clapped-out
adjective
(of machinery or appliances) worn-out; dilapidated.
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clapped out
clapped outadjective(clapped-out when prenominal) (esp of machinery) worn out; dilapidated
clapped-out
American
[klapt-out]
/ ˈklæptˈaʊt /
adjective
British Informal.
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(of machinery or appliances) worn-out; dilapidated.
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(of a person) exhausted; fatigued.
clapped out
British
adjective
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informal (clapped-out when prenominal) (esp of machinery) worn out; dilapidated
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extremely tired; exhausted
Etymology
Origin of clapped-out
First recorded in 1945–50
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:
But Mick Cash, leader of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said that transport services across the region were actually "lumped with clapped-out, overcrowded trains with any replacement programme light years off".
From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2015
For all the talk of him being too old for Edith, he doesn't seem like a clapped-out crock to me.
From Slate ● Jan. 7, 2013
Spain would be given an extra year to meet its deficit targets, and allowed to receive rescue funds directly into its clapped-out banking sector without the ignominy of a full-blown bailout.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 14, 2012
The pristine records they produce belie the frankly rather clapped-out looking machines that continue to manufacture them.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 25, 2010
“Crumbs, how long does it take! The instruments are the same whether you’re flying a Barracuda dive-bomber or a clapped-out old Tiger Moth, and the flaps are automatic! Easy peasy!”
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
"What's the safest way to do this? I'm not trying to get clapped out," Bogdanski said.
From Salon ● Mar. 20, 2023
“Hi, my name is Anna,” she chanted, as she clapped out a rhythm that the others repeated back to her: “Ba-BAH-ba-ba-BAH.”
From New York Times ● Jul. 7, 2022
The couple were clapped out of the ward by hospital staff when they were discharged together six weeks ago.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2021
They tumble exhausted from clapped out lorries and cars that have barely made the journey.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 10, 2017
Highboy danced while Buddy and Portia clapped out the rhythm.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
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.
