1
as in bang
a loud explosive sound
a clap of thunder that woke the whole house up
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of clap
Frank Rizzo, Variety, 29 Sep. 2025
Owen Wilson’s Stick has been renewed for a second season; the news was likely received to just mild golf claps among the online golfing community.
—Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 26 Sep. 2025
Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Oct. 2025
People hate on the Chiefs but here is the offense clapping along to a veteran being honored during their huddle.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clap
Noun
But Lloyd’s awkward staging here and questionable affectations (including an audience clap-along) makes Pozzo’s relationship with Lucky unfocused and puzzling.
—Frank Rizzo, Variety, 29 Sep. 2025
Owen Wilson’s Stick has been renewed for a second season; the news was likely received to just mild golf claps among the online golfing community.
—Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 26 Sep. 2025
Verb
As Consuelos spoke, a loud buzzing noise clapped through the studio space, with the actor pausing to take note of the distraction in the moment.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Oct. 2025
People hate on the Chiefs but here is the offense clapping along to a veteran being honored during their huddle.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clap
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clap
Noun
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These changes, as well as, wearing bangs were a major key to keeping her edges strong.—
Essence,
Essence,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Here are two Arizona ski resorts that will get you the most bang for your buck this season.—
Paige Moore,
AZCentral.com,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The windshield repels the huddled form and the thump on the pavement sounds like a rebuke.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
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The result is that the sonic boom becomes a sonic thump of 60 dB to 80 dB, or about that of a car door closing for those on the ground.—
David Szondy
October 28,
New Atlas,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The elder Ciattarelli slapped his forward with his right hand as his son, dressed in camouflage fatigues, approached for a hug.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
3 Nov. 2025
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One columnist with the New Pittsburgh Courier even slapped Whyte’s label on the United Nations, suggesting that countries, like individuals, had a primal aversion to yielding their sovereignty to the groupthink of world governance.—
David Merritt Johns,
The Atlantic,
2 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
With the various boons, his administration might have also created the condition for a boom in enhanced oil recovery, similar to the earlier one in fracking.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Not in the interconnected world that is this AI boom.—
Andrew Nusca,
Fortune,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The first accounts of cheating and payoffs during exam week surfaced—a blow to the belief in fairness on which the whole system of guilds depended.—
George Packer,
The Atlantic,
6 Nov. 2025
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Google had hoped to void those changes with an appeal, but the ruling issued in July by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a legal blow for the tech giant, which has been waylaid in three separate antitrust trials affecting different pillars of its internet empire.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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But, every once in a while, I’ll get smacked in the face by one.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
6 Nov. 2025
-
An arrest warrant has been issued for a high school football player accused of intentionally smacking one of his opponents on the head at their game, according to investigators in North Florida.—
Mark Price,
Miami Herald,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Cheney shot a 78-year-old hunting companion Harry Whittington in the torso, neck, and face with an errant shotgun blast.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
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The blast is courtesy of our old wintertime foe the polar vortex, Maue said, while the source of the cold is all the way from Greenland and the Canadian Arctic.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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That will include the X-59’s first supersonic flight, in which the aircraft will achieve the optimal speed and altitude for a boom—or thud, in this case.—
Rachel Cormack,
Robb Report,
29 Oct. 2025
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After a promising start, the Carson Wentz era might have just ended with a thud.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clap. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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