flap
verb (used without object)
to swing or sway back and forth loosely, especially with noise.
had been flapping
-
past perfect progressiveof flap.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
All day, the lapels had been flapping open to reveal the stars and stripes, but in Tower Hamlets he buttoned his blazer and kept his head down.
From New York Times ● Aug. 16, 2017
The sails had been flapping, more or less, all day, and at the change of the dog-watches, at six o'clock, Tom ordered the men aft to stow the mizen.
From A Voyage in the 'Sunbeam' Our Home on the Ocean for Eleven Months by Annie Brassey
It was November of the following year that the bird of ill-omen, which had been flapping its wings over Calvary Alley for so long, decided definitely to alight.
From Calvary Alley by Alice Caldwell Hegan Rice
For many hours she did not move her position; the big mizzen, which had been flapping with reports like thunder, was furled; the other sails were brailed up.
From Roger Willoughby A Story of the Times of Benbow by Archibald Webb
Almost suddenly it was gone, as if, like a bird that had been flapping the ground in agony, it had at last recovered itself, and taken to its great wings and flown.
From Sir Gibbie by George MacDonald
