slap
1 Americannoun
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a sharp blow or smack, especially with the open hand or with something flat.
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a sound made by or as if by such a blow or smack.
the slap of the waves against the dock.
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a sharply worded or sarcastic rebuke or comment.
verb (used with object)
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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.
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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
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a gap or opening, as in a fence, wall, cloud bank, or line of troops.
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a mountain pass.
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a wound or gash.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a sharp blow or smack, as with the open hand, something flat, etc
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the sound made by or as if by such a blow
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a sharp rebuke; reprimand
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informal sexual play
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an insult or rebuff
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congratulation
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a light punishment or reprimand
verb
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(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
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to congratulate
adverb
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exactly; directly
slap on time
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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:
The move was described as a "slap in the face" by openly gay footballer Jake Daniels, who had received a message of support from Henderson when he came out.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
Volkswagen's "workers have already to accept hefty and painful cuts and now are getting another slap in the face," Christiane Benner told the Wirtschaftswoche weekly.
From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026
Section 301 has also opened the door to new country-specific tariffs targeted at Brazil, at 25%, while Section 338 was cited to slap an extra 50% import tax on certain Canadian goods.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Washington this week indicated it would slap new restrictions on Iran’s economy in the coming days.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
I pluck the royal-blue Dodgers cap from the stool to my right and slap it on my head.
From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner
De Paula tossed his bat aside, looked into the Dodgers dugout and slapped his chest across the letters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
Before the face-off, security confiscated an egg Garcia had tucked into his pocket, potentially preventing a repeat of last year's incident when Chris Eubank Jr slapped Benn across the face with one.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Prosecutors unveiled the indictment in early 2019, and Washington slapped a first round of sanctions on Huawei after the charges were levied.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
And short of guaranteeing that someone gets slapped across the face every year, count on the Oscars to try to regain its distinction while courting viewers however possible.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
One of the children—a boy—stuck his finger into it, and his older sister slapped his hand.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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
Governments across the continent are starting to impose limits on tourism: cracking down on Airbnbs, slapping taxes on tourists and limiting cruise-ship numbers and new hotel construction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Too many, I’d say, but slapping droning voiceovers atop expository visuals isn’t for me.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
“Come here, boy,” I said, slapping my leg with my hand.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
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.
