lap

[lap]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lap ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the front part of the human body from the waist to the knees when in a sitting position.

the part of the clothing that lies on the front portion of the body from the waist to the knees when one sits.

a place, environment, or situation of rest or nurture: the lap of luxury.

area of responsibility, care, charge, or control: They dropped the problem right in his lap.

a hollow place, as a hollow among hills.

the front part of a skirt, especially as held up to contain something.

a part of a garment that extends over another: the lap of a coat.

a loose border or fold.

Origin of lap

before 900; Middle English lappe, Old English læppa; cognate with Dutch lap; akin to German lappen, Old Norse leppr rag, patch

lap

[lap]

verb (used with object), lapped, lap·ping.

to fold over or around something; wrap or wind around something: to lap a bandage around one's finger.

to enwrap in something; wrap up; clothe.

to envelop or enfold: lapped in luxury.

to lay (something) partly over something underneath; lay (things) together, one partly over another; overlap.

to lie partly over (something underneath).

to get a lap or more ahead of (a competitor) in racing, as on an oval track.

to cut or polish with a lap.

to join, as by scarfing, to form a single piece with the same dimensions throughout.

to change (cotton, wool, etc.) into a compressed layer or sheet.

verb (used without object), lapped, lap·ping.

to fold or wind around something.

to lie partly over or alongside of something else.

to lie upon and extend beyond a thing; overlap.

to extend beyond a limit.

noun

the act of lapping.

the amount of material required to go around a thing once.

a complete circuit of a course in racing or in walking for exercise: to run a lap.

an overlapping part.

the extent or amount of overlapping.

a rotating wheel or disk holding an abrasive or polishing powder on its surface, used for gems, cutlery, etc.

a compressed layer or sheet of cotton, wool, or other fibrous material usually wound on an iron rod or rolled into a cylindrical form for further processing during carding.

Origin of lap

1250–1300; Middle English lappen to fold, wrap; cognate with Dutch lappen to patch, mend; akin to lap¹

lap

[lap]

verb (used with object), lapped, lap·ping.

(of water) to wash against or beat upon (something) with a light, slapping or splashing sound: Waves lapped the shoreline.

to take in (liquid) with the tongue; lick in: to lap water from a bowl.

verb (used without object), lapped, lap·ping.

to wash or move in small waves with a light, slapping or splashing sound: The water lapped gently against the mooring.

to take up liquid with the tongue; lick up a liquid.

noun

the act of lapping liquid.

the lapping of water against something.

the sound of this: the quiet lap of the sea on the rocks.

something lapped up, as liquid food for dogs.

Verb Phrases

lap up,

Informal.to receive enthusiastically: The audience lapped up his monologue.
to take in (all of a liquid) with the tongue; drink up: The cat lapped up her milk and looked for more.

Origin of lap

before 1000; Middle English lappen, unexplained variant of lapen, Old English lapian; cognate with Middle Low German lapen, Old High German laffan; akin to Latin lambere, Greek láptein to lick, lap

lap

⁴

[lap]

verb Archaic.

simple past tense of leap.

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

Related Words for lap

course, round, distance, splash, lick, circle, tour, loop, bathe, swish, lave, drink, burble, slap, sip, lip, sup, ripple, bubble, gurgle

Examples from the Web for lap

Contemporary Examples of lap

A. I struck him in the back of the head while he was in my lap fighting to break free.
From Ferguson Cop Embroiled in a Brutality Suit to City Councilwoman
Michael Daly
August 20, 2014
Tihen had insisted he was in her lap as she struggled to handcuff him.
From Ferguson Cop Embroiled in a Brutality Suit to City Councilwoman
Michael Daly
August 20, 2014
If you saw it in front of you, your pencil would drop, your tablet would fall from your lap.
How Mork Melted the Fonz: Henry Winkler Recalls Robin Williams’s Storming ‘Happy Days’ Debut
Tim Teeman
August 12, 2014
Customers rave “Fun place to go, especially with the $5 lap dance lunch special.”
Strippers for Jesus
Olivia Nuzzi
July 30, 2014
Creativity is not something that falls into your lap in full bloom.
Vampires without Glitter or Girl Problems: Inside Guillermo del Toro’s ‘The Strain’
Andrew Romano
July 14, 2014

Historical Examples of lap

Viviette shredded an apple blossom that had fallen into her lap.
Viviette
William J. Locke
Hester threw herself on her knees, and buried her face in her mother's lap.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
Harriet sat with her hands in her lap and listened while Tillie poured out her story.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
In Sidney's lap lay a small pasteboard box, punched with many holes.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
His maiden looked up from her mother's lap where she wept for him, and fled shrieking.
The Trail Book
Mary Austin

British Dictionary definitions for lap

lap

noun

one circuit of a racecourse or track

a stage or part of a journey, race, etc

an overlapping part or projection
the extent of overlap

the length of material needed to go around an object

a rotating disc coated with fine abrasive for polishing gemstones

any device for holding a fine abrasive to polish materials

metallurgy a defect in rolled metals caused by the folding of a fin onto the surface

a sheet or band of fibres, such as cotton, prepared for further processing

verb laps, lapping or lapped

(tr) to wrap or fold (around or over)he lapped a bandage around his wrist

(tr) to enclose or envelop inhe lapped his wrist in a bandage

to place or lie partly or completely over or project beyond

(tr; usually passive) to envelop or surround with comfort, love, etclapped in luxury

(intr) to be folded

(tr) to overtake (an opponent) in a race so as to be one or more circuits ahead

(tr) to polish or cut (a workpiece, gemstone, etc) with a fine abrasive, esp to hone (mating metal parts) against each other with an abrasive

to form (fibres) into a sheet or band

Derived Formslapper, noun

Word Origin for lap

C13 (in the sense: to wrap): probably from lap 1

lap

verb laps, lapping or lapped

(of small waves) to wash against (a shore, boat, etc), usually with light splashing sounds

(often foll by up) (esp of animals) to scoop (a liquid) into the mouth with the tongue

noun

the act or sound of lapping

a thin food for dogs or other animals

Word Origin for lap

Old English lapian; related to Old High German laffan, Latin lambere, Greek laptein

lap

noun

the area formed by the upper surface of the thighs of a seated person

Also called: lapful the amount held in one's lap

a protected place or environmentin the lap of luxury

any of various hollow or depressed areas, such as a hollow in the land

the part of one's clothing that covers the lap

drop in someone's lap give someone the responsibility of

in the lap of the gods beyond human control and power

Word Origin for lap

Old English læppa flap; see lobe, lappet, lop ²

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 lap

Old English læppa (plural læppan) "skirt or flap of a garment," from Proto-Germanic *lapp- (cf. Old Frisian lappa, Old Saxon lappo, Middle Dutch lappe, Dutch lap, Old High German lappa, German Lappen "rag, shred," Old Norse leppr "patch, rag"), from PIE root *leb- "be loose, hang down."

Sense of "lower part of a shirt" led to that of "upper legs of seated person" (c.1300). Used figuratively ("bosom, breast") from late 14c.; e.g. lap of luxury, first recorded 1802. From 15c.-In 17c. the word (often in plural) was a euphemism for "female pudendum," but this is not the source of lap dance, which is first recorded 1993.

To lap dance, you undress, sit your client down, order him to stay still and fully clothed, then hover over him, making a motion that you have perfected by watching Mister Softee ice cream dispensers. [Anthony Lane, review of "Showgirls," "New Yorker," Oct. 16, 1995]

That this is pleasure and not torment for the client is something survivors of the late 20c. will have to explain to their youngers.

v.1

"take up liquid with the tongue," from Old English lapian "to lap up, drink," from Proto-Germanic *lapajanan (cf. Old High German laffen "to lick," Old Saxon lepil, Dutch lepel, German Löffel "spoon"), from PIE imitative base *lab- (cf. Greek laptein "to sip, lick," Latin lambere "to lick"), indicative of licking, lapping, smacking lips. Meaning "splash gently" first recorded 1823, based on similarity of sound. Related: Lapped; lapping.

v.2

"to lay one part over another," early 14c., "to surround (something with something else)," from lap (n.). Figurative use, "to envelop (in love, sin, desire, etc.)" is from mid-14c. The sense of "to get a lap ahead (of someone) on a track" is from 1847, on notion of "overlapping." The noun in this sense is 1670s, originally "something coiled or wrapped up;" meaning "a turn around a track" (1861) also is from this sense. Related: Lapped; lapping; laps.

Idioms and Phrases with lap

lap

In addition to the idioms beginning with lap

lap of luxury, in the
lap of the gods, in the
lap up

also see:

drop in someone's lap