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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of clap
Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2026
Tears flowed, and the audience held space for grief, offering supportive claps and chants.
—Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 18 Mar. 2026
Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 10 Apr. 2026
Close laughed at Kimmel's joke, while the players lightly clapped their hands, exchanging light laughs.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for clap
Noun
At one point, Woods tightly shuts his eyes while having to stack his fists, clap, and count.
—Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2026
Tears flowed, and the audience held space for grief, offering supportive claps and chants.
—Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 18 Mar. 2026
Verb
Attendees were encouraged to snap their fingers rather than clap in response to answers.
—Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 10 Apr. 2026
Close laughed at Kimmel's joke, while the players lightly clapped their hands, exchanging light laughs.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for clap
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clap
Noun
-
Johnny Knoxville is sending off the Jackass franchise with a bang… and possibly a few 9-1-1 calls.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
19 Apr. 2026
-
Other times, they were woken by loud bangs.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The Yankees need Wells to provide at least some thump in a bottom third of the order that hasn’t been very good.—
Brendan Kuty,
New York Times,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Moments later, a bass thump sounded in the distance.—
Nabih Bulos,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Vince tried to get Shane to slap her in a scene, but Shane refused.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Tyler Mikorski was about to board a flight to go on vacation with his girlfriend and her family on March 1 when police slapped cuffs on him.—
Jason Abbruzzese,
NBC news,
19 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In 2017, during a Bitcoin boom, Long Island Iced Tea shifted to cryptocurrency, changing its name to Long Blockchain.—
Bruna Horvath,
NBC news,
15 Apr. 2026
-
But as the economy booms in San Francisco, so does the rent.—
Loureen Ayyoub,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Sheehan managed to keep the Rockies from landing the big blow.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
19 Apr. 2026
-
The Senate’s quick passage of the 10-day patch was starkly different than the House’s rare overnight session, during which House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was dealt two consecutive blows.—
Hailey Bullis,
The Washington Examiner,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Rich Township definitely didn’t know what to do Tuesday with Holley, who smacked two doubles and drove in three runs for H-F in a 10-3 win at Illinois-Chicago’s Curtis Granderson Stadium.—
Patrick Z. McGavin,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Apr. 2026
-
LaRoche smacked a 2-1 pitch to deep right for a 3-run home run in the bottom of the first.—
Darren Lauber,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
When a Lake Dallas home exploded last month, critically injuring a woman inside, investigators said natural gas from a leaking pipe fueled the blast.—
Lexi Salazar,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
-
At trial prosecutors painted Islam, who had at one time been a driver for Malcolm X, as the one who fired the initial, and fatal, shotgun blast.—
Tracy Grant,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Another day, as Mom loads the children into the car, Jeremy tosses a basketball against the house, again and again, his passive aggression registering through the ball’s unyielding thuds and his own frozen gaze.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
12 Apr. 2026
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The call, which the filing says was made within two minutes of the thuds, was to an employee of the company that owned the development where Okland was hosting the open house.—
Karen Cortes,
NBC news,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clap. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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