/ klæp; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb ( -pp- )
1.
to hit your open hands together several times to show that you approve of or have enjoyed sth :
[ v ]
The audience cheered and clapped.
[ vn ]
Everyone clapped us when we went up to get our prize.
2.
clap (your hands) to hit your open hands together :
[ vn ]
She clapped her hands in delight.
He clapped his hands for silence.
[ v ]
Everyone clapped in time to the music.
3.
[ vn ] clap sb on the back / shoulder to lightly hit sb with your open hand, usually in a friendly way
4.
[ vn + adv. / prep. ] to put sth/sb somewhere quickly and suddenly :
'Oh dear!' she cried, clapping a hand over her mouth.
to clap sb in irons / jail / prison
► clap·ping noun [ U ]:
I could hear the sound of clapping from the other room.
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IDIOMS
see eye noun
■ noun
1.
[ sing. ] an act of clapping the hands; the sound this makes :
Give him a clap! (= to praise sb at the end of a performance)
2.
[ C ] a sudden loud noise :
a clap of thunder
3.
(also the clap ) [ U ] ( informal ) a disease of the sexual organs, caught by having sex with an infected person
SYN gonorrhoea
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WORD ORIGIN
verb and noun senses 1 to 2 Old English clappan throb, beat , of imitative origin. Sense 1 dates from late Middle English .
noun sense 3 late 16th cent.: from Old French clapoir venereal bubo.