slap on the back
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Washington cared a lot about appearances and made sure that he presented himself as a formidable, dignified figure, not someone you’d slap on the back on a whim.
From Slate ● Feb. 16, 2026
BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew described Root's 180 as "wonderful, well-controlled innings", adding: "He got a slap on the back from some of the Indians."
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2021
Is there anything better than a slap on the back from a boyhood pal?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2019
As his teammates stretched in neat rows, he walked up and down, stopping at each player for a high-five, slap on the back or pat on the head.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 7, 2016
He collided with me and gave me a sweaty hug and a slap on the back, then threw his arm over my shoulder as we headed back to the locker room.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
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.
