EN

Synonyms for clap

31 synonyms
1 antonym
2 meanings

noun
verb

Most common

knock tap pat slap thunder clap clack

Synonyms by meaning

Noun

1. Slap

slap, bang, crack, pat, knock, tap, burst, blast, boom-boom, bam, explosion, eruption, thwack, poke

Other

gonorrhea US, gonorrhoea UK, gonorrhœa UK, thunder clap, clack, thrust, dumpster, venereal disease dated

Verb

1. Applaud — to applaud

applaud, cheer, applause, cheer on, acclaim, hail, hurrah, spat US, plaudit, beclap, hurray

Antonyms

All antonyms of clap →

Definitions

n. 1
The act of striking the palms of the hands, or any two surfaces, together.
He summoned the waiter with a clap.
v. 1
To applaud.
It isn’t the singers they are clapping; it's the composer.

Related words

Word family: clapboard clapcake clapdish clapstick clapper clapping
Phrases: clap up clap together clap cheeks clap on

Forms

Plural: claps → slaps, bangs, cracks, pats…
Past participle: clapped
e.g. clapped → applauded, cheered, applaused, acclaimed…

Example sentences

knock What should we do if the police knock at our door?
tap Tap water is sometimes cleaner than bottled water.
pat The story was too pat and I got rather suspicious.
slap For Markku Liisa's comment was a slap in the face.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
clap		rising
knock		rising
tap		rising
pat		steady
slap		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: tap¹, pat¹, bam¹
4 letters: bang¹, slap¹, hail¹, poke¹, spat¹
5 letters: crack¹, knock¹, blast¹, burst¹, cheer¹, clack¹
6 letters: thrust¹, hurrah², hurray², thwack, beclap
7 letters: applaud², acclaim², plaudit²
8 letters: applause², eruption³, dumpster²
9 letters: explosion³, gonorrhea⁴
10 letters: gonorrhoea

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (hurrah² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: chaude-pisse