Library / English Dictionary

CLAP

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: clapped    , clapping   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A sudden very loud noise

Synonyms:

bam; bang; blast; clap; eruption

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("clap" is a kind of...):

noise (sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "clap"):

water hammer (the banging sound of steam in pipes)

Derivation:

clap (strike together so as to produce a sharp percussive noise)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A sharp abrupt noise as if two objects hit together; may be repeated

Synonyms:

clack; clap

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("clap" is a kind of...):

noise (sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound))

Derivation:

clap (strike together so as to produce a sharp percussive noise)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A common venereal disease caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae; symptoms are painful urination and pain around the urethra

Synonyms:

clap; gonorrhea; gonorrhoea

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("clap" is a kind of...):

Cupid's disease; Cupid's itch; dose; sexually transmitted disease; social disease; STD; VD; venereal disease; venereal infection; Venus's curse (a communicable infection transmitted by sexual intercourse or genital contact)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Clap one's hands together

Example:

The children were clapping to the music

Synonyms:

clap; spat

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "clap" is one way to...):

gesticulate; gesture; motion (show, express or direct through movement)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

clapper (someone who applauds)

clapping (a demonstration of approval by clapping the hands together)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Clap one's hands or shout after performances to indicate approval

Synonyms:

acclaim; applaud; clap; spat

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "clap" is one way to...):

gesticulate; gesture; motion (show, express or direct through movement)

"Clap" entails doing...:

approve; O.K.; okay; sanction (give sanction to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "clap"):

bravo (applaud with shouts of 'bravo' or 'brava')

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

clapper (someone who applauds)

clapping (a demonstration of approval by clapping the hands together)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Strike together so as to produce a sharp percussive noise

Example:

clap two boards together

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "clap" is one way to...):

hit (cause to move by striking)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

clap (a sudden very loud noise)

clap (a sharp abrupt noise as if two objects hit together; may be repeated)

clapper (metal striker that hangs inside a bell and makes a sound by hitting the side)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Strike with the flat of the hand; usually in a friendly way, as in encouragement or greeting

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "clap" is one way to...):

hit (deal a blow to, either with the hand or with an instrument)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 5

Meaning:

Put quickly or forcibly

Example:

The judge clapped him in jail

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "clap" is one way to...):

lay; place; pose; position; put; set (put into a certain place or abstract location)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody PP
Somebody ----s something PP

Sense 6

Meaning:

Strike the air in flight

Example:

the wings of the birds clapped loudly

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "clap" is one way to...):

beat; flap (move with a flapping motion)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 7

Meaning:

Cause to strike the air in flight

Example:

The big bird clapped its wings

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "clap" is one way to...):

beat; flap (move with a thrashing motion)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

He clapped his hands, with that thrill of joy which true art will ever give to a true artist.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

My uncle clapped his hand to his fob.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Round and round the room she danced, her hands clapping, her dark eyes gleaming with delighted wonder, and a thousand pretty Italian exclamations pouring from her lips.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

And so, at last they came to the library, where she clapped her hands and pranced, as she always did when especially delighted.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

“Why, how do you come to be here?” said Steerforth, clapping me on the shoulder.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

We clapped our hands to our ears to shut out that nerve-shaking appeal.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Oh, my dear, I see that your eyes are opened, and that to you the lightning flash show all the leagues, for Mrs. Harker began to clap her hands and her eyes sparkled.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Hand-clapping and pleased cries from the gods greeted the performance.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Here the honest but inflexible servant clapped the door to and bolted it within.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

If you have ever heard a clap of thunder, the boom of fireworks, or the roar of a supersonic jet, you already know how shock waves sound.

(Seeing Shock Waves, EARTH OBSERVATORY)