flap

[flap]

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verb (used without object), flapped, flap·ping.

to swing or sway back and forth loosely, especially with noise: A loose shutter flapped outside the window.

to move up and down, as wings; flap the wings, or make similar movements.

to strike a blow with something broad and flexible.

Slang. to become excited or confused, especially under stress: a seasoned diplomat who doesn't flap easily.

verb (used with object), flapped, flap·ping.

to move (wings, arms, etc.) up and down.

to cause to swing or sway loosely, especially with noise.

to strike with something broad and flat.

to toss, fold, shut, etc., smartly, roughly, or noisily.

Phonetics. to pronounce (a sound) with articulation resembling that of a flap: The British often flap their r's.

noun

something flat and broad that is attached at one side only and hangs loosely or covers an opening: the flap of an envelope; the flap of a pocket.

either of the two segments of a book jacket folding under the book's front and back covers.

one leaf of a folding door, shutter, or the like.

a flapping motion.

the noise produced by something that flaps.

a blow given with something broad and flat.

Slang.

a state of nervous excitement, commotion, or disorganization.
an emergency situation.
scandal; trouble.

Surgery. a portion of skin or flesh that is partially separated from the body and may subsequently be transposed by grafting.

Aeronautics. a movable surface used for increasing the lift or drag of an airplane.

Phonetics.

a rapid flip of the tongue tip against the upper teeth or alveolar ridge, as in the r-sound in a common British pronunciation of very, or the t-sound in the common American pronunciation of water.
a trill.
a flipping out of the lower lip from a position of pressure against the upper teeth so as to produce an audible pop, as in emphatic utterances containing f-sounds or v-sounds.

Building Trades.

Also called backflap hinge, flap hinge.a hinge having a strap or plate for screwing to the face of a door, shutter, or the like.
one leaf of a hinge.

Origin of flap

1275–1325; Middle English flappe a blow, slap, flappen to hit, slap; compare Dutch flap, flappen

Related formsflap·less, adjectiveun·flap·ping, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for flap

turbulence, brouhaha, fuss, confusion, flail, flop, dangle, hang, vibrate, thrash, apron, hanging, fold, tag, tab, strip, skirt, overlap, adjunct, tail

Examples from the Web for flap

Contemporary Examples of flap

My editor called and said, “Do a column on this Lena Dunham flap!”
Up to a Point: They Made Me Write About Lena Dunham
P. J. O’Rourke
December 13, 2014
Yet, after flipping through Not That Kind of Girl, I do begin to understand what “this Lena Dunham flap” is about.
Up to a Point: They Made Me Write About Lena Dunham
P. J. O’Rourke
December 13, 2014
If you flap your arms hard enough, a pair of vast feathered wings appears to grow out from your shoulders.
Frickin’ Laser Beams Run by Eyeballs: The Next Art Revolution Is Here
Nico Hines
July 7, 2014
Take my former boss, Mitt Romney, and the flap over a Jeep plant in Ohio.
When Campaign Spin Becomes Fact
Stuart Stevens
March 21, 2014
Songs that the Hyades shall sing, Where flap the tatters of the King, Must die unheard in Dim Carcosa.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show
Robert W. Chambers
February 20, 2014

Historical Examples of flap

A five, a four and the main,' shouted the big man, with a voice like the flap of a sail.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
Anthony lifted the flap, holding up the lantern, and we both looked in.
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson
Oh, I wish you could have seen him flap his wings with delight.
Harper's Young People, July 27, 1880
Various
Then he let down the flap, and examined the empty pigeon-holes and dusty panelling.
The Golden Age
Kenneth Grahame
I put gun and maps in the right pocket; food in that flap behind you.
Under Arctic Ice
H.G. Winter

British Dictionary definitions for flap

flap

verb flaps, flapping or flapped

to move (wings or arms) up and down, esp in or as if in flying, or (of wings or arms) to move in this way

to move or cause to move noisily back and forth or up and downthe curtains flapped in the breeze

(intr) informal to become agitated or flustered; panic

to deal (a person or thing) a blow with a broad flexible object

(tr sometimes foll by down) to toss, fling, slam, etc, abruptly or noisily

(tr) phonetics to pronounce (an (r) sound) by allowing the tongue to give a single light tap against the alveolar ridge or uvula

noun

the action, motion, or noise made by flappingwith one flap of its wings the bird was off

a piece of material, etc, attached at one edge and usually used to cover an opening, as on a tent, envelope, or pocket

a blow dealt with a flat object; slap

a movable surface fixed to the trailing edge of an aircraft wing that increases lift during takeoff and drag during landing

surgery a piece of tissue partially connected to the body, either following an amputation or to be used as a graft

informal a state of panic, distress, or agitation

phonetics an (r) produced by allowing the tongue to give a single light tap against the alveolar ridge or uvula

Word Origin for flap

C14: probably of imitative origin

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

Word Origin and History for flap

mid-14c., flappe "a blow, slap," probably imitative of the sound of striking. Meaning "something that hangs down" is first recorded 1520s. Sense of "motion or noise like a bird's wing" is 1774; meaning "disturbance, noisy tumult" is 1916, British slang.

early 14c., "dash about, shake;" later "strike, hit;" see flap (n.). Meaning "to swing loosely" is from 1520s. Related: Flapped; flapping.

flap in Medicine

flap

[flăp]

n.

Tissue used in surgical grafting that is only partially detached from its donor site so that it continues to be nourished during transfer to the recipient site.