flap
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flap¹
- /flæp/ Australia, US, UK
- /flap/ British, Northern England, Scotland
- /flɛp/ New Zealand
Rhymes with -æp
Where it comes from
From Middle English flap, flappe (“a slap; blow; buffet; fly-flap; something flexible or loose; flap”), related to Saterland Frisian Flappert (“wing, flipper”), Middle Dutch flabbe (“a blow; slap on the face; fly-flap; flap”) (modern Dutch flap (“flap”)), Middle Low German flabbe, vlabbe, flebbe, from the verb (see below). Related also to English flab and flabby.
noun flaps
- Anything broad and flexible that hangs loose, or that is attached by one side or end and is easily moved. a flap of a garment
- A hinged leaf. the flaps of a table
- A hinged surface on the trailing edge of the wings of an aeroplane, used to increase lift and drag.
-
A side fin of a ray.
Similar: wing
- The motion of anything broad and loose, or a sound or stroke made with it. the flap of a sail
-
A controversy, scandal, stir, or upset.
The comment caused quite a flap in the newspapers.
Similar: ado, argy-bargy, bangarang, bobbery, brouhaha, bunfight, bustle, bust-up, chaos, ferment, clamour, clatter
-
A consonant sound made by a single muscle contraction, such as the sound /ɾ/ in the standard American English pronunciation of body.
Similar: tap
- A piece of tissue incompletely detached from the body, as an intermediate stage of plastic surgery.
- The labia, the vulva.
- A blow or slap (especially to the face). 1450, Palladius on Husbondrieː Ware the horn and heels lest they fling a flap to thee.
- A young prostitute. Fall to your flap, my Masters, kisse and clip. […] Come hither, you foule flappes.
- A connected component of the induced subgraph formed by deleting a set of vertices.
flap²
- /flæp/ Australia, US, UK
- /flap/ British, Northern England, Scotland
- /flɛp/ New Zealand
Rhymes with -æp
Where it comes from
From Middle English flappen (“to flap, clap, slap, strike”), related to Dutch flappen (“to flap”), German Low German flappen (“to flap”), German flappen (“to flap”), Dutch flabberen (“to flit, flap”). Probably ultimately imitative.
verb flaps · flapping · flapped
- To move (something broad and loose) up and down. The crow slowly flapped its wings.
- To move loosely back and forth. The flag flapped in the breeze.
- For a goalkeeper to weakly attempt to play a flighted ball with the hands, failing to control it. Former Turkey goalkeeper Rustu Recber flapped at his first Delap throw but was given a soft free-kick by referee Antony Gautier.
- To pronounce (something) as a flap consonant.
- To be pronounced with a flap consonant.
- To be advertised as being available and then unavailable (or available by different routes) in rapid succession.
- To talk, especially in a manner seen as excessive, nagging or annoying. She stay flappin' at me.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: fluttering, flutter, flopping, wave, undulate, beat, dither, pother, tizzy, fuss, blow, beating, hoopla, ruckus, unrest, hullabaloo
Translations
Every language
noun flap of a garment
| Español | solapa, solape, solapo |
|---|---|
| Português | aba |
| Français | pan |
| Deutsch | Krempe, Hutkrempe, Patte |
| Русский | пола́ polá, подо́л podól |
| Tiếng Việt | vạt, vạt áo |
noun furniture flap / hinged leaf
| Português | aba |
|---|---|
| Français | rabat |
| Deutsch | Klappe |
| Italiano | ribalta |
| Русский | откидна́я доска́ otkidnája doská |
noun flap of wings etc
| Français | battement |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Flügelschlag, Schlag |
| Русский | хло́панье xlópanʹje |
noun concerning an aeroplane
| Español | flap |
|---|---|
| Português | flape |
| Français | volet de bord de fuite |
| Deutsch | Bremsklappe, Landeklappe |
| Italiano | ipersostentatore |
| Română | volet, flaps |
| Русский | закры́лок zakrýlok |
noun upset / stir
| Deutsch | Aufregung |
|---|---|
| Русский | возбужде́ние vozbuždénije |
noun phonetics
| Español | percusiva, vibrante simple |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 탄음 taneum |
| 日本語 | 弾き音 hajikion |
| 中文 | 閃音 /闪音 shǎnyīn |
| Português | vibrante simples |
| Français | battue, consonne battue |
| Ελληνικά | μονοπαλλόμενο monopallómeno |
noun surgical tissue
| Español | colgajo |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Lappen, Hautlappen, Hautfetzen |
| Ελληνικά | κρημνός krimnós |
| Русский | лоску́т loskút |
verb to move (something broad and loose) up and down
| Español | batir |
|---|---|
| Português | bater |
| Français | battre |
| Deutsch | flattern |
| Italiano | sventolare, sbattere, battere |
| Ελληνικά | τινάζω tinázo |
| Русский | маха́ть maxátʹ, помаха́ть pomaxátʹ |
| العربية | رَفْرَف rafraf |
verb to move loosely back and forth
| Español | flamear, tremolar |
|---|---|
| Português | tremular |
| Deutsch | klappern |
| Italiano | sventolare |
| Русский | развева́ться razvevátʹsja |
| العربية | رَفْرَف rafraf |
Talk about this word "flap." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/flap. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. flap. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/flap "flap." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/flap.Cite this
@misc{flap_2026,
title = {flap},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/flap},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
