slap
1 Americannoun
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a sharp blow or smack, especially with the open hand or with something flat.
-
a sound made by or as if by such a blow or smack.
the slap of the waves against the dock.
-
a sharply worded or sarcastic rebuke or comment.
verb (used with object)
-
to strike sharply, especially with the open hand or with something flat.
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to bring (the hand, something flat, etc.) with a sharp blow against something.
-
to dash or cast forcibly.
He slapped the package against the wall.
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to put or place promptly and sometimes haphazardly (often followed byon ).
The officer slapped a ticket on the car. He slapped mustard on the sandwich.
adverb
verb phrase
idioms
noun
-
a gap or opening, as in a fence, wall, cloud bank, or line of troops.
-
a mountain pass.
-
a wound or gash.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
a sharp blow or smack, as with the open hand, something flat, etc
-
the sound made by or as if by such a blow
-
a sharp rebuke; reprimand
-
informal sexual play
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an insult or rebuff
-
congratulation
-
a light punishment or reprimand
verb
-
(tr) to strike (a person or thing) sharply, as with the open hand or something flat
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(tr) to bring down (the hand, something flat, etc) sharply
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to strike (something) with or as if with a slap
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informal (tr) to apply in large quantities, haphazardly, etc
she slapped butter on the bread
-
to congratulate
adverb
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exactly; directly
slap on time
-
forcibly or abruptly
to fall slap on the floor
Synonym Usage
See blow 1.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of slap1
First recorded in 1625–35; from Low German slapp(e); of expressive origin
Origin of slap2
First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English slop(e) “inroad made into enemy ranks,” from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German; cognate with German Schlupf “hiding place”
Explanation
To slap someone is to hit them with the palm of your open hand. It's not nice to slap your sister, no matter how mad you are. A smack or open-handed blow is a slap, and you can also describe the sound it makes—or a similar sound—as a slap. You could describe the slap of water against the side of your rowboat, or say that your mom slaps her magazine against the table when she's done reading. Slap is also an informal adverb, meaning "immediately" or "directly:" "Sneaking out of class, he ran slap into the principal."
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.
See Examples For:
“That just felt like a huge slap in the face,” Lewis said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
“Or did ya just slap some AI slop on this piece that we were so helpful with?”
From Slate ● Oct. 11, 2026
Riffing on the human need for emotional engagement through the arts with such venom is not just a slap in the face; it’s evidence of Iñárritu’s gnawing insecurities.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
The AI slap video wasn’t the least bit clever.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Mr. Archie laughed a laugh that might have been accompanied by a thigh slap had he been mobile.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
As Los Angeles became more crowded and less pleasant a place to live, the high-handedness of Southern California developers and officialdom occasionally got those hands slapped.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
Warner Bros. demanded Russell pare down the film’s most intense scenes yet still slapped it with an X rating in the U.S. and U.K., while other countries banned it outright.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2026
It also raises questions about how well these ads are being slapped together.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
That miss took into account a $1.2 billion fine the bank was slapped with by the Treasury Department after regulators found it had insufficient systems to monitor and report financial crimes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Unable to make a sound, I slapped Dad’s arm.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
One man was spotted riding his cricket bat like a hobby horse toward the dunes, slapping his backside in the breeze.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
The crowd had made its allegiances clear after a fiery build-up which included Itauma shoving Hrgovic, the Zagreb man slapping him back and plenty of verbal sparring.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
Already, Skubal’s joining in on pregame handshake lines and slapping the dugout railing in time to Roki Sasaki’s warm-up music.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
Too many, I’d say, but slapping droning voiceovers atop expository visuals isn’t for me.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
He even heard the man’s bare feet slapping against the wood of the porch.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
