(of machinery or appliances) worn-out; dilapidated.
(of a person) exhausted; fatigued.
informal (clapped-out when prenominal) (esp of machinery) worn out; dilapidated
extremely tired; exhausted
First recorded in 1945–50
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Given the form of each team going into the semi-final and Conte’s apparent belief that even a clapped-out Diego Costa is better than Michy Batshuayi, Scenario B looks more likely.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 21, 2017
But Mick Cash, leader of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said that transport services across the region were actually "lumped with clapped-out, overcrowded trains with any replacement programme light years off".
From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2015
For all the talk of him being too old for Edith, he doesn't seem like a clapped-out crock to me.
From Slate ● Jan. 7, 2013
But then that's my clapped-out never-was mess of a brain talking.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 12, 2012
“Crumbs, how long does it take! The instruments are the same whether you’re flying a Barracuda dive-bomber or a clapped-out old Tiger Moth, and the flaps are automatic! Easy peasy!”
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
Otherwise, he says, it's like putting a Ferrari engine in a "clapped out car".
From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2026
"What's the safest way to do this? I'm not trying to get clapped out," Bogdanski said.
From Salon ● Mar. 20, 2023
“Hi, my name is Anna,” she chanted, as she clapped out a rhythm that the others repeated back to her: “Ba-BAH-ba-ba-BAH.”
From New York Times ● Jul. 7, 2022
They tumble exhausted from clapped out lorries and cars that have barely made the journey.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 10, 2017
Yamu-nedjeh clapped out a rhythm with his hands and all one hundred thirty of us slammed our dolerite against the granite.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
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.
