verb (used without object), flapped, flap·ping.
- 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), flapped, flap·ping.
- 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 backflap hinge, flap hinge.a hinge having a strap or plate for screwing to the face of a door, shutter, or the like.
- one leaf of a hinge.
verb flaps, flapping or flapped
- 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 downthe curtains flapped in the breeze
- (intr) informal to become agitated or flustered; panic
- to deal (a person or thing) a blow with a broad flexible object
- (tr sometimes foll by down) 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 flappingwith 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
mid-14c., flappe “a blow, slap,” probably imitative of the sound of striking. Meaning “something that hangs down” is first recorded 1520s. Sense of “motion or noise like a bird’s wing” is 1774; meaning “disturbance, noisy tumult” is 1916, British slang.
early 14c., “dash about, shake;” later “strike, hit;” see flap (n.). Meaning “to swing loosely” is from 1520s. Related: Flapped; flapping.
n.
- Tissue used in surgical grafting that is only partially detached from its donor site so that it continues to be nourished during transfer to the recipient site.