CLAP • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Clap

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/klæp/ Listen

noun

Clap n.

1.

A loud noise made by sudden collision; a bang. "Give the door such a clap, as you go out, as will shake the whole room."

2.

A burst of sound; a sudden explosion. "Horrible claps of thunder."

3.

A single, sudden act or motion; a stroke; a blow. "What, fifty of my followers at a clap!"

4.

A striking of hands to express approbation. "Unextrected claps or hisses."

5.

Noisy talk; chatter. (Obs.)

6.

(Falconry) The nether part of the beak of a hawk.

Clap dish. See Clack dish, under Clack, n.

Clap net, a net for taking birds, made to close or clap together.

Clap n. Gonorrhea.

verb

Clap v. t. (past & past part. clapped; pres. part. clapping)

1.

To strike; to slap; to strike, or strike together, with a quick motion, so, as to make a sharp noise; as, to clap one's hands; a clapping of wings. "Then like a bird it sits and sings, And whets and claps its silver wings."

2.

To thrust, drive, put, or close, in a hasty or abrupt manner; often followed by to, into, on, or upon. "He had just time to get in and clap to the door." "Clap an extinguisher upon your irony."

3.

To manifest approbation of, by striking the hands together; to applaud; as, to clap a performance.

To clap hands.

(a)

To pledge faith by joining hands. (Obs.)

(b)

To express contempt or derision. (Obs.)

To clap hold of, to seize roughly or quickly.

To clap up.

(a)

To imprison hastily or without due formality.

(b)

To make or contrive hastily. (Obs.) "Was ever match clapped up so suddenly?"

Clap v. i.

1.

To knock, as at a door. (Obs.)

2.

To strike the hands together in applause. "Their ladies bid them clap."

3.

To come together suddenly with noise. "The doors around me clapped."

4.

To enter with alacrity and briskness; with to or into. (Obs.) "Shall we clap into it roundly, without... saying we are hoarse?"

5.

To talk noisily; to chatter loudly. (Obs.)

See images of 'Clap'

Etymology of 'Clap'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Clap" Quotes from Famous Books

... was exceedingly gratified at her daughter's engagement; of course she was very quiet about it, she did n't clap her hands or drag in Mr. Tester's name; but it was easy to see that she felt a kind of maternal peace, an abiding satisfaction. The young man behaved as well as possible, was constantly seen with Joscelind, and smiled down at her in the kindest, most protecting way. They looked beautiful ...

— The Path Of Duty • Henry James

... rough has become smooth, the crooked has been made straight, the forests have been converted into fruitful fields, the rude log cabin of the woodsman has been replaced by the handsome, well-appointed homestead, and large populous cities have pushed the small clap-boarded village into ...

— Roughing it in the Bush • Susanna Moodie

... as to the impossibility of getting our great army into existence. All those people who write and talk so glibly in favour of conscription seem to forget that to take a common man, and more particularly a townsman, clap him into a uniform and put a rifle in his hand does not make a soldier. He has to be taught not only the use of his weapons, but the methods of a strange and unfamiliar life out of doors; he has to be not simply drilled, but accustomed ...

— An Englishman Looks at the World • H. G. Wells

... thy coronet, or that heaven, Which now with a clear [arch] lends us this light, Shall not be curtain'd with the veil of night, Ere on thy head I clap a burning crown Of red-hot iron, that shall ...

— A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Vol. VII (4th edition) • Various

... notice it. So absorbed was she in trying to appear unconcerned that she did not see the approach of the storm; in fact, there was a supercharge of restraint on all three of them, and it startlingly broke upon them in a clap of thunder that sounded as if it had smashed a tree not ...

— Stubble • George Looms

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