flaps
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of flaps
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.
His sculpture, in a shade of teal that’s surprisingly regal, spreads across the ground, flaps of steel straining to lift themselves just inches off the surface as a couple plates have effortfully pulled themselves upright.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
He has difficulty sitting still or paying attention and flaps his hands when excited or upset.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 22, 2025
"Or the Butterfly Effect. The analogy is that if a butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil, it could have an impact on the atmosphere across northern Europe, six days later."
From BBC • Aug. 5, 2025
But a take-off roll with retracted flaps would trigger warnings from the 787's take-off Configuration Warning System, alerting the flight crew to an unsafe configuration, according to one pilot the BBC spoke to.
From BBC • Jun. 12, 2025
My hair whips across my face, and the fabric of my T-shirt tugs and flaps against my torso.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
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.
