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
Agustín Félix, a 26-year-old in tight jeans, expensive sneakers and a trucker hat, greeted Quintero with a slap on the back.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 17, 2024
It wasn't exactly a slap on the back and a half-hearted "good luck", but it might as well have been.
From BBC • Dec. 12, 2023
“If you want to enjoy that T-bone,” the man said, giving a friendly slap on the back as he got off the train, “it’ll be our secret.”
From New York Times • Aug. 22, 2021
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.
