1
as in bang
a loud explosive sound
a clap of thunder that woke the whole house up
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2
as in thump
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
a sharp clap to the head of the disrespectful youth
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as in to slap
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
clapped him on the back as a friendly gesture
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of clap
Jay Paris, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2024
The femininity of the space feels almost sacred—huge smiles leap from women’s faces, encouraging claps spring from their hands.
—Raleigh McCool, Longreads, 5 Sep. 2024
Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2024
The children sing, clap, dance and play games with one another as their mother, Hanan, feeds their 1-month-old baby brother with a bottle.
—Freddie Clayton, NBC News, 28 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for clap 
Noun
But like giant thunder claps, the Rams clap backed.
—Jay Paris, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2024
The femininity of the space feels almost sacred—huge smiles leap from women’s faces, encouraging claps spring from their hands.
—Raleigh McCool, Longreads, 5 Sep. 2024
Verb
The Japanese woman sitting next to me clapped in surprise when Go brought out the ingredients for a rice porridge course made with sekogani — small female snow crabs full of roe.
—Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2024
The children sing, clap, dance and play games with one another as their mother, Hanan, feeds their 1-month-old baby brother with a bottle.
—Freddie Clayton, NBC News, 28 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for clap
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clap
Noun
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Winters — who was so terrifying in Heroes of the Fourth Turning and who revealed a messy vulnerability behind Kerry Castellabate’s hard bangs and structured suits on Succession — is a pro at tough, slick surfaces with tangles of insecurity underneath.Sara Holdren, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2024
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For those with a larger budget, this configuration gives you a lot of bang for your buck, able to play the latest games at their highest settings.Jade Chung-Lee, PCMAG, 6 Nov. 2024
Noun
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The single shot rings out and then a thump as the animal hits the ground.Britta Lokting, Rolling Stone, 13 Oct. 2024
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The group’s classic instrumentation got a new scaffolding of Jersey club drums, roiling sub-bass and reggaeton thump.August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Trump’s talk of slapping 20 percent tariffs onto everything sold to America, including European exports, could spell disaster for Europe’s economy.New York Times, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2024
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Trump’s last term saw the Republican slap tariffs on hundreds of billions worth of Chinese goods, launch a campaign against Chinese telecoms giant Huawei and use racist language to describe the virus that causes Covid-19, which was first identified in China.Simone McCarthy, CNN, 31 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Although Tesla isn’t exactly a slouch, the company itself isn’t responsible for its latest stock boom.William Gavin, Quartz, 13 Nov. 2024
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The United States is in the midst of the biggest boom in clean energy manufacturing investments in history, spurred by laws like the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.James Morton Turner, Discover Magazine, 9 Nov. 2024
Noun
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And in what many consider the final blow to her mayoral career, Thao’s home was raided by FBI agents in July.Kimmy Yam, NBC News, 13 Nov. 2024
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That will come as a bitter blow to the workers affected.The Week UK, theweek, 10 Nov. 2024
Verb
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Last night Prospect Park, smack in the middle of Brooklyn, caught fire.Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 9 Nov. 2024
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Director Bruce Goodison applies the tension well in the first two thirds of this efficient Shudder release, but then the plot smacks into a dead-end in its final act.Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Then there is the twin shotgun blast of this month’s Terrifier 3 and Smile 2.Chris Lee, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2024
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Buds fall off when exposed to blasts of cold air or heat.Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Arriving police heard a thud and found Payne’s body in the hotel courtyard, Policicchio said.Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2024
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News that the Mexican government had forced down the Gulfstream and confiscated its 4 tons of cocaine landed with a thud at ICE.Penn Bullock, Rolling Stone, 25 Sep. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Clap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clap. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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