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
Nick Scott, Robb Report, 25 Oct. 2024
In an amusing side-by-side clip showing the Only Murders in the Building star, 32, at the award show and joking around about practicing her clap, Gomez can be seen doing nearly the exact same motions.
—Staff Author, Peoplemag, 17 Sep. 2024
James Brizuela, Newsweek, 24 Nov. 2024
In the clip, which appeared to be filmed by someone in the stands at the horse show, Grace was filmed riding her horse across a field before jumping over a fence as the crowd clapped and cheered.
—Escher Walcott, People.com, 20 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for clap 
Noun
The vibe is also congenial: A multi-generational, full-capacity crowd claps in time to the ebullient techno between games and cheers in unison when an announcement reveals that a Polish couple who’ve just got engaged here will be enjoying top-tier hospitality for the rest of the tournament.
—Nick Scott, Robb Report, 25 Oct. 2024
In an amusing side-by-side clip showing the Only Murders in the Building star, 32, at the award show and joking around about practicing her clap, Gomez can be seen doing nearly the exact same motions.
—Staff Author, Peoplemag, 17 Sep. 2024
Verb
Players on both teams began clapping with Ekeler being walked to the sideline.
—James Brizuela, Newsweek, 24 Nov. 2024
In the clip, which appeared to be filmed by someone in the stands at the horse show, Grace was filmed riding her horse across a field before jumping over a fence as the crowd clapped and cheered.
—Escher Walcott, People.com, 20 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for clap
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clap
Noun
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History, at times, ends with a whimper rather than a bang.Guney Yildiz, Forbes, 8 Dec. 2024
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A lot of bang, plus a disturbing number of cut logs.Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 8 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The White Sox have a major need for power hitting as Jose Abreu, Eloy Jimenez and Yoan Moncada are gone and Andrew Vaughn appears to have misplaced his thump.Phil Rogers, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
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Ariel remembered telling Maricela to hurry and then feeling a whoosh and hearing a thump behind him.Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica, 24 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Last month, Trump proposed slapping a 25% tariff on imports from both Mexico and Canada, two of the United States' biggest trading partners.Scott Horsley, NPR, 15 Dec. 2024
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No final decisions on either personnel or strategy on Iran have been made official yet by Trump, including whether to slap fresh sanctions on the country, pursue diplomacy or both in order to halt their nuclear program.Trevor Hunnicutt and Steve Holland, USA TODAY, 12 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Now, on the heels of the artificial intelligence boom, Core Scientific has reinvented itself as a cloud computing company for AI startups.Sarah Emerson, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024
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Big picture Amazon’s slate of custom chip announcements last week sent a signal to Wall Street about its preferred path forward in the AI computing boom — and Bank of America took heed, as evidenced by the downgrade.Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 9 Dec. 2024
Noun
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But Manchin raced across town from a previous engagement to deliver the fatal blow, 50-49.Axios, Axios, 12 Dec. 2024
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Then, when the entire sector was down, Siemens Energy got hit with another blow.Ganesh Rao, CNBC, 10 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Nobody will mind if they get smacked in the head by a selfie stick, or buzzed by a drone.Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 9 Nov. 2024
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With the score sitting at 14-10, Crabb smacked the ball at Banesh who parried it, his touch giving Partain the option to pass it back to his teammate.Aaron Heisen, Orange County Register, 9 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Each Lantern is equipped with a power ring that can create anything through the use of willpower, from armor to weapons to energy blasts to constructs.Nick Romano, EW.com, 10 Dec. 2024
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Dying due to a bomb blast means losing all your equipment.Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The music of jazz trumpeter Enrico Rava washes over the dining room as solicitous waiters recite the evening’s specials, their delivery unaffected by the thud of bombs falling on a neighborhood nearby.Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2024
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Minnesota United’s second-deepest run in MLS Cup playoffs in club history ended with a thud on Sunday.Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 25 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Clap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clap. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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