Clap (Verb)
Meaning 1
Put quickly or forcibly; "The judge clapped him in jail".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Examples
- The police clapped the handcuffs on the suspect and read him his rights.
- The dictator clapped critics of his regime into prison without trial.
- The strict principal clapped an unruly student into detention after another outburst.
- The authorities clapped down on dissent by introducing restrictive laws.
- The government clapped a gag order on the media to silence them.
Hypernyms
Meaning 2
Cause to strike the air in flight; "The big bird clapped its wings".
Classification
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming.
Hypernyms
Meaning 3
Strike the air in flight; "the wings of the birds clapped loudly".
Classification
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming.
Hypernyms
Meaning 4
Strike together so as to produce a sharp percussive noise; "clap two boards together".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Related Words
Meaning 5
Clap one's hands together; "The children were clapping to the music".
Classification
Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care.
Examples
- The audience started clapping along with the energetic beat of the song.
- The children were clapping to the music of the nursery rhyme.
- She clapped her hands together in excitement when she heard the good news.
- Everyone in the room began clapping after the moving speech was delivered.
- The crowd began clapping as soon as the performer stepped onto the stage.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Related Words
Meaning 6
Clap one's hands or shout after performances to indicate approval.
Classification
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing.
Examples
- She jumped out of her seat to clap after the breathtaking dance performance.
- The entire audience clapped in thunderous applause after the orchestra finished its powerful final piece.
- Following the jazz band's rousing set, the crowd gave a loud, extended clap to show its appreciation.
- Every time her favorite singer performed a hit song, she clapped along enthusiastically with the rest of the concert-goers.
- The comedy club audience clapped wildly as the comedian finally concluded his funny and intense stand-up set.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Hyponyms
Related Words
Meaning 7
Strike with the flat of the hand; usually in a friendly way, as in encouragement or greeting.
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Examples
- The audience began to clap as the actor took the stage to accept his award.
- She let out a loud clap when her favorite singer appeared on television.
- The teacher asked the students to clap their hands to get everyone's attention.
- He responded to the greeting with a friendly clap on the back.
- The crowd erupted into applause with a series of loud claps after the incredible performance.