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flap
[ flap ]
verb (used without object)
- to swing or sway back and forth loosely, especially with noise:
A loose shutter flapped outside the window.
- to move up and down, as wings; flap the wings, or make similar movements.
- to strike a blow with something broad and flexible.
- Slang. to become excited or confused, especially under stress:
a seasoned diplomat who doesn't flap easily.
verb (used with object)
- to move (wings, arms, etc.) up and down.
- to cause to swing or sway loosely, especially with noise.
- to strike with something broad and flat.
- to toss, fold, shut, etc., smartly, roughly, or noisily.
- Phonetics. to pronounce (a sound) with articulation resembling that of a flap:
The British often flap their r's.
noun
- something flat and broad that is attached at one side only and hangs loosely or covers an opening:
the flap of an envelope; the flap of a pocket.
- either of the two segments of a book jacket folding under the book's front and back covers.
- one leaf of a folding door, shutter, or the like.
- a flapping motion.
- the noise produced by something that flaps.
- a blow given with something broad and flat.
- Slang.
- a state of nervous excitement, commotion, or disorganization.
- an emergency situation.
- scandal; trouble.
- Surgery. a portion of skin or flesh that is partially separated from the body and may subsequently be transposed by grafting.
- Aeronautics. a movable surface used for increasing the lift or drag of an airplane.
- Phonetics.
- a rapid flip of the tongue tip against the upper teeth or alveolar ridge, as in the r -sound in a common British pronunciation of very, or the t -sound in the common American pronunciation of water.
- a trill.
- a flipping out of the lower lip from a position of pressure against the upper teeth so as to produce an audible pop, as in emphatic utterances containing f -sounds or v -sounds.
- Building Trades.
- Also called back·flap hinge [bak, -flap , hinj],. a hinge having a strap or plate for screwing to the face of a door, shutter, or the like.
- one leaf of a hinge.
flap
/ flæp /
verb
- to move (wings or arms) up and down, esp in or as if in flying, or (of wings or arms) to move in this way
- to move or cause to move noisily back and forth or up and down
the curtains flapped in the breeze
- informal.intr to become agitated or flustered; panic
- to deal (a person or thing) a blow with a broad flexible object
- trsometimes foll bydown to toss, fling, slam, etc, abruptly or noisily
- tr phonetics to pronounce (an (r) sound) by allowing the tongue to give a single light tap against the alveolar ridge or uvula
noun
- the action, motion, or noise made by flapping
with one flap of its wings the bird was off
- a piece of material, etc, attached at one edge and usually used to cover an opening, as on a tent, envelope, or pocket
- a blow dealt with a flat object; slap
- a movable surface fixed to the trailing edge of an aircraft wing that increases lift during takeoff and drag during landing
- surgery a piece of tissue partially connected to the body, either following an amputation or to be used as a graft
- informal.a state of panic, distress, or agitation
- phonetics an (r) produced by allowing the tongue to give a single light tap against the alveolar ridge or uvula
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Other Words From
- flap·less adjective
- un·flap·ping adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of flap1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of flap1
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Example Sentences
You can wear them as mittens when it’s excruciatingly cold, and if you need to use your fingers, one tuck of a flap or pull of a zipper can turn them into fingerless gloves.
That’s right, we’re talking ear flaps also known as trapper hats.
“It sounds like a sharp thunderclap,” said Darden, who published more than 50 papers on high-lift wing design in supersonic flow, flap design and sonic boom prediction and minimization.
Beanies and hats with ear flaps always ride up, especially under my helmet.
We can see in the videos released by SpaceX that the flaps are under good control.
My editor called and said, “Do a column on this Lena Dunham flap!”
Yet, after flipping through Not That Kind of Girl, I do begin to understand what “this Lena Dunham flap” is about.
If you flap your arms hard enough, a pair of vast feathered wings appears to grow out from your shoulders.
Take my former boss, Mitt Romney, and the flap over a Jeep plant in Ohio.
Songs that the Hyades shall sing, Where flap the tatters of the King, Must die unheard in Dim Carcosa.
He shifted across to the mouth of the tent and raised the flap, fastening it against the pole so that he could see out.
"That's the wind rising," whispered the clergyman, and pulled the flap open as far as it would go.
And as I watched the canvas shake and heard it boom and flap I heartily welcomed it.
The flap was wide open and any ordinary animal would have been out and away without the least trouble.
Mother thinks a dash-churn, stand and flap the dasher straight up and down till your arms and legs give out, is the best kind.
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