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# clap

«clap» in Mova's school dictionary: **To hit your hands together, usually again and again, to…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (clap, claps, clapped, clapping); noun (a clap, claps)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To hit your hands together, usually again and again, to show you like something, to keep a beat or to get attention. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clap/#m1)

2) A clap is one loud sharp sound, like a clap of thunder. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clap/#m2)

3) To put something somewhere quickly and firmly: clap a hand over your mouth. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clap/#m3)

4) "Clap eyes on" means to see. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clap/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life, people clap (applaud) at the end of a show, assembly or game to say well done. In music, we clap rhythms and beats; in phonics, clapping the syllables of a word helps you count them (but-ter-fly = 3 claps). Teachers clap a pattern to get the class's attention. In science, a clap of thunder is the sound of lightning heating the air very fast. Phrases: "clap your hands", "a round of applause / a big clap", "clap along", "a clap of thunder", "give them a clap".

### examples

- Let's all clap for the winners. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clap/#x1)
- Clap the syllables in "elephant": el-e-phant, three claps. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clap/#x2)
- We clapped along to the music. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clap/#x3)
- There was a loud clap of thunder. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clap/#x4)
- The teacher clapped twice and the class went quiet. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clap/#x5)
- Give Ben a big clap for his poem! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clap/#x6)
- She clapped her hand over her mouth in surprise. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clap/#x7)
- Count the claps: clap, clap, clap — that's three. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clap/#x8)
- The Fairy clapped her hands twice. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clap/#x9)

### note

Regular verb, double p: clapped, clapping. "Applaud" is a more formal word for clap. In maths and music, a clap pattern can repeat: "clap, clap, pause" repeated 4 times = 8 claps.

### In the corpora

- [Pigeons often clap their wings together loudly as they take off, and males also clap in display flights.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/221-pigeons-head-bobbing-homing-and-city-cliffs/15/)
- [The court claps; the Queen says it proves he is guilty.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/13/)
- [I like your spirit.» Toad starts slowly and carefully, and the gentlemen clap: fancy a washerwoman driving so well!](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/64-willows-ch10-part4-into-the-horse-pond/2/)
- [At a concert, play or assembly you stay quiet during the show and clap at the end.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/224-quiet-places-and-solemn-moments/13/)
- [When someone performs, you listen quietly and clap at the end, because it shows respect for their effort.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/246-music-practice-and-ball-safety/10/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «clap» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clap/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.