flap


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Related to flap: flap surgery

flap

 (flăp)
n.
1.
a. A projecting or hanging piece usually attached to something on one side and often intended to protect or cover: the flap of an envelope.
b. Either of the folded ends of a book jacket that fit inside the front and back covers.
c. A variable control surface on the trailing edge of an aircraft wing, used primarily to increase lift or drag.
d. Medicine A piece of tissue that has been partially detached and used in surgical grafting to fill an adjacent defect or cover the cut end of a bone after amputation.
2.
a. The act of waving or fluttering: the flap of the flag in the wind.
b. The sound produced by this motion.
3. Linguistics A sound articulated by a single, quick touch of the tongue against the teeth or alveolar ridge, as (t) in water. Also called tap1.
4. Informal A commotion or disturbance: a flap in Congress over the defense budget.
5. Archaic A blow given with something flat; a slap.
v. flapped, flap·ping, flaps
v.tr.
1. To move (wings or arms, for example) up and down.
2. To cause to move or sway with a fluttering or waving motion: The wind is flapping the tent fly.
3. To cause to strike against something: flapped the paper on the table.
v.intr.
1.
a. To move wings or the arms up and down.
b. To fly by beating the air with the wings: The crow flapped away.
2. To move or sway while fixed at one edge or corner; flutter: banners flapping in the breeze.

[Middle English flappe, slap.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

flap

(flæp)
vb, flaps, flapping or flapped
1. to move (wings or arms) up and down, esp in or as if in flying, or (of wings or arms) to move in this way
2. to move or cause to move noisily back and forth or up and down: the curtains flapped in the breeze.
3. (intr) informal to become agitated or flustered; panic
4. to deal (a person or thing) a blow with a broad flexible object
5. (sometimes foll by: down) to toss, fling, slam, etc, abruptly or noisily
6. (Phonetics & Phonology) (tr) phonetics to pronounce (an (r) sound) by allowing the tongue to give a single light tap against the alveolar ridge or uvula
n
7. the action, motion, or noise made by flapping: with one flap of its wings the bird was off.
8. a piece of material, etc, attached at one edge and usually used to cover an opening, as on a tent, envelope, or pocket
9. a blow dealt with a flat object; slap
10. (Aeronautics) a movable surface fixed to the trailing edge of an aircraft wing that increases lift during takeoff and drag during landing
11. (Surgery) surgery a piece of tissue partially connected to the body, either following an amputation or to be used as a graft
12. informal a state of panic, distress, or agitation
13. (Phonetics & Phonology) phonetics an (r) produced by allowing the tongue to give a single light tap against the alveolar ridge or uvula
[C14: probably of imitative origin]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

flap

(flæp)

v. flapped, flap•ping,
n. v.i.
1. to swing or sway back and forth loosely, esp. with noise.
2. to move up and down, as wings or arms.
3. to strike a blow with something broad and flexible.
4. Slang. to talk in a foolish manner; babble.
v.t.
5. to move (wings, arms, etc.) up and down.
6. to cause to swing or sway loosely, esp. with noise.
7. to strike with something broad and flat.
8. to toss, fold, shut, etc., smartly, roughly, or noisily.
9. to pronounce (a sound) with a rapid flip of the tongue tip against the upper teeth or alveolar ridge.
n.
10. something flat and broad that is attached at one side only and hangs loosely or covers an opening.
11. either of the two segments of a book jacket folding under the book's front and back covers.
12. one leaf of a folding door, shutter, or the like.
13. a flapping motion.
14. the noise produced by something that flaps.
15. Informal.
a. a state of nervous excitement.
b. an emergency situation.
c. scandal; trouble.
16. a movable surface used for increasing the lift or drag of an airplane.
17. a rapid flip of the tongue tip against the upper teeth or alveolar ridge, as in the r-sound in a common British pronunciation of very or the t-sound in a common American pronunciation of water.
18.
a. Also called flap′ hinge`. a hinge having a strap or plate for screwing to the face of a door, shutter, or the like.
b. one leaf of a hinge.
[1275–1325; Middle English flappe a blow]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Flap

 of nuns—Lipton, 1970.
Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

flap


Past participle: flapped
Gerund: flapping

Imperative
flap
flap
Present
I flap
you flap
he/she/it flaps
we flap
you flap
they flap
Preterite
I flapped
you flapped
he/she/it flapped
we flapped
you flapped
they flapped
Present Continuous
I am flapping
you are flapping
he/she/it is flapping
we are flapping
you are flapping
they are flapping
Present Perfect
I have flapped
you have flapped
he/she/it has flapped
we have flapped
you have flapped
they have flapped
Past Continuous
I was flapping
you were flapping
he/she/it was flapping
we were flapping
you were flapping
they were flapping
Past Perfect
I had flapped
you had flapped
he/she/it had flapped
we had flapped
you had flapped
they had flapped
Future
I will flap
you will flap
he/she/it will flap
we will flap
you will flap
they will flap
Future Perfect
I will have flapped
you will have flapped
he/she/it will have flapped
we will have flapped
you will have flapped
they will have flapped
Future Continuous
I will be flapping
you will be flapping
he/she/it will be flapping
we will be flapping
you will be flapping
they will be flapping
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been flapping
you have been flapping
he/she/it has been flapping
we have been flapping
you have been flapping
they have been flapping
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been flapping
you will have been flapping
he/she/it will have been flapping
we will have been flapping
you will have been flapping
they will have been flapping
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been flapping
you had been flapping
he/she/it had been flapping
we had been flapping
you had been flapping
they had been flapping
Conditional
I would flap
you would flap
he/she/it would flap
we would flap
you would flap
they would flap
Past Conditional
I would have flapped
you would have flapped
he/she/it would have flapped
we would have flapped
you would have flapped
they would have flapped
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.flap - any broad thin and limber covering attached at one edgeflap - any broad thin and limber covering attached at one edge; hangs loose or projects freely; "he wrote on the flap of the envelope"
barndoor - an opaque adjustable flap on a lamp fixture; used in photography to cut off light from particular areas
coattail - the loose back flap of a coat that hangs below the waist
codpiece - (15th-16th century) a flap for the crotch of men's tight-fitting breeches
covering - an artifact that covers something else (usually to protect or shelter or conceal it)
earflap, earlap - one of two flaps attached to a cap to keep the ears warm
dag, jag - a flap along the edge of a garment; used in medieval clothing
overlap, lap - a flap that lies over another part; "the lap of the shingles should be at least ten inches"
pocket flap - a flap that covers the access to a pocket
fly sheet, rainfly, tent flap, tent-fly, fly - flap consisting of a piece of canvas that can be drawn back to provide entrance to a tent
tongue - the flap of material under the laces of a shoe or boot
2.flap - an excited state of agitation; "he was in a dither"; "there was a terrible flap about the theft"
agitation - a mental state of extreme emotional disturbance
3.flap - the motion made by flapping up and downflap - the motion made by flapping up and down
undulation, wave - (physics) a movement up and down or back and forth
4.flap - a movable piece of tissue partly connected to the body
animal tissue - the tissue in the bodies of animals
uvula - a small pendant fleshy lobe at the back of the soft palate
soft palate, velum - a muscular flap that closes off the nasopharynx during swallowing or speaking
protective fold - a flap of tissue that protects what it covers
leaflet, cusp - a thin triangular flap of a heart valve
5.flap - a movable airfoil that is part of an aircraft wingflap - a movable airfoil that is part of an aircraft wing; used to increase lift or drag
aerofoil, airfoil, control surface, surface - a device that provides reactive force when in motion relative to the surrounding air; can lift or control a plane in flight
landing flap - a flap on the underside of the wing that is lowered to slow the plane for landing
wing - one of the horizontal airfoils on either side of the fuselage of an airplane
Verb1.flap - move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motionflap - move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion; "The curtains undulated"; "the waves rolled towards the beach"
move - move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion; "He moved his hand slightly to the right"
luff - flap when the wind is blowing equally on both sides; "the sails luffed"
2.flap - move noisily; "flags flapped in the strong wind"
thump, beat, pound - move rhythmically; "Her heart was beating fast"
3.flap - move with a thrashing motionflap - move with a thrashing motion; "The bird flapped its wings"; "The eagle beat its wings and soared high into the sky"
move, displace - cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense; "Move those boxes into the corner, please"; "I'm moving my money to another bank"; "The director moved more responsibilities onto his new assistant"
flutter - flap the wings rapidly or fly with flapping movements; "The seagulls fluttered overhead"
flap, beat - move with a flapping motion; "The bird's wings were flapping"
bate - flap the wings wildly or frantically; used of falcons
clap - cause to strike the air in flight; "The big bird clapped its wings"
4.flap - move with a flapping motionflap - move with a flapping motion; "The bird's wings were flapping"
move - move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion; "He moved his hand slightly to the right"
flap, beat - move with a thrashing motion; "The bird flapped its wings"; "The eagle beat its wings and soared high into the sky"
flail, thresh - move like a flail; thresh about; "Her arms were flailing"
clap - strike the air in flight; "the wings of the birds clapped loudly"
5.flap - make a fuss; be agitated
fret, fuss, niggle - worry unnecessarily or excessively; "don't fuss too much over the grandchildren--they are quite big now"
6.flap - pronounce with a flap, of alveolar sounds
enounce, enunciate, pronounce, sound out, articulate, say - speak, pronounce, or utter in a certain way; "She pronounces French words in a funny way"; "I cannot say `zip wire'"; "Can the child sound out this complicated word?"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

flap

verb
1. flutter, wave, swing, swish, flail Sheets flapped on the clothes line.
2. beat, wave, thrash, flutter, agitate, wag, vibrate, shake, thresh The bird flapped its wings furiously.
3. (Informal) panic, fuss, dither (chiefly Brit.) There's no point in you flapping around in the kitchen, making your guest feel uneasy.
noun
1. cover, covering, tail, fold, skirt, tab, overlap, fly, apron, lapel, lappet He drew back the tent flap and strode out.
2. flutter, beating, waving, shaking, swinging, bang, banging, swish the gunshot flap of a topsail
3. (Informal) panic, state (informal), agitation, commotion, sweat (informal), stew (informal), dither (chiefly Brit.), fluster, twitter (informal), tizzy (informal), mind-fuck (taboo slang) Wherever he goes, there's always a flap.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

flap

noun
Informal. An interruption of regular procedure or of public peace:
Informal: to-do.
verb
1. To move (one's arms or wings, for example) up and down:
2. To move or cause to move about while being fixed at one edge:
3. To move through the air with or as if with wings:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
إضْطِراب أو فَزَعثَنْيَه، حاشِيَهرَفْرَفَهيُحَرِّك النِّسيميُرَفْرِفُ
cípmávatpanikařitpleskáníšos
baskebaske medblafreblafrenblive forvirret
läpättää
lepršati
begyulladcsapkodásfülszárnycsapkodás
blakta; blakahornringulreiî; uppnámruglast; komast í uppnámsmellur, skellur; sláttur
パタパタ動かす
퍼덕거리다
blaškytiskas kabantiskas nukaręspanikuotiplaikstytis
atlokskrist panikāpanikapārloksplandīšanās
cíppanikáriťtrepotať
plahutanjeplahutatizavihek
slå
กระพือปีก
çarpma sesiçırpmakendişeflapheyecanlanmak
đập

flap

[flæp]
A. N
1. [of pocket, envelope] → solapa f; [of table] → hoja f (plegable); [of counter] → trampa f; [of skin] → colgajo m (Aer) → alerón m
2. (= act) [of wing] → aletazo m; (= sound) → (ruido m del) aleteo m
3. (Brit) (= crisis) → crisis f inv; (= row) → lío m
there's a big flap onse ha armado un buen lío
to get into a flapponerse nervioso
B. VT [bird] [+ wings] → batir; (= shake) [+ sheets, newspaper] → sacudir; [+ arms] → agitar
C. VI
1. [wings] → aletear; [sails] → agitarse; [flag] → ondear, agitarse
2. (= panic) → ponerse nervioso
don't flap!¡con calma!
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

flap

[ˈflæp]
n
[pocket, envelope] → rabat m; [skin] → morceau m; [tent] → rabat m
(= panic) to be in a flap → être dans tous ses états
to be in a flap about sth, to be in a flap over sth → paniquer à propos de qch
to get in a flap about sth, to get in a flap over sth → se mettre dans tous ses états à propos de qch
vt
[+ wings] → battre
The bird flapped its wings → L'oiseau battait des ailes.
[person] [+ one's arms] → agiter; [+ towel] → secouer
vi [sail, flag] → claquer; [washing] → claquer
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

flap

n
(of pocket)Klappe f; (of table)ausziehbarer Teil; (of tent) → Eingang m; (Aviat) → (Lande)klappe f; a flap of skinein Hautfetzen m; (Med) → ein Hautlappen m
(= sound, of sails, sheeting etc) → Flattern nt, → Knattern nt; (of wings)Schlagen nt
(= motion) to give something a flapleicht auf etw (acc)klatschen
(Brit inf) → helle Aufregung, Panik f; to get in(to) a flapin helle Aufregung geraten, ins Flattern geraten (inf)
(Phon) → geschlagener Laut
vi
(wings)schlagen; (door, shutters)schlagen, klappern; (sails, tarpaulin etc)flattern; his coat flapped about his legsder Mantel schlackerte ihm um die Beine (inf); his ears were flapping (inf)er spitzte die Ohren
(Brit inf) → in heller Aufregung sein; to start to flapin helle Aufregung geraten; don’t flapreg dich nicht auf; there’s no need to flap(das ist) kein Grund zur Aufregung; she’s been flapping around all morningsie rennt schon den ganzen Morgen wie ein aufgescheuchtes Huhn durch die Gegend (inf)
vt to flap its wingsmit den Flügeln schlagen; to flap one’s armsmit den Armen rudern; he flapped the newspaper at the flyer schlug or klatschte mit der Zeitung nach der Fliege
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

flap

[flæp]
1. n
a. (of pocket) → patta, battente m; (of envelope) → linguetta; (of table) → ribalta (Aer) → flap m inv
b. (movement) to give sth a flapsbattere qc
they could hear the flap of the sails (sound) → sentivano sbattere le vele
to be in a flap (fam) → essere in agitazione
to get into a flap (fam) → farsi prendere dal panico
2. vt (subj, bird, wings) → sbattere, battere; (shake, sheets, newspaper) → agitare, sbattere
3. vi
a. (wings, sails, flag) → sbattere
b. (fam) (panic) → farsi prendere dal panico
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

flap

(flӕp) noun
1. anything broad or wide that hangs loosely. a flap of canvas.
2. the sound made when such a thing moves. We could hear the flap of the flag blowing in the wind.
3. great confusion or panic. They are all in a terrible flap.
verbpast tense, past participle flapped
1. to (make something) move with the sound of a flap. the leaves were flapping in the breeze; The bird flapped its wings.
2. to become confused; to get into a panic. There is no need to flap.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

flap

يُرَفْرِفُ třepotat (se) blafre schlagen φτερουγίζω agitar, agitarse läpättää claquer lepršati sbattere パタパタ動かす 퍼덕거리다 flappen flakse trzepnąć agitar хлопать slå กระพือปีก kanat çırpmak đập 拍打
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

flap

n. [sound of wings] aleteo; sonido de alas; cubierta; colgajo.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

flap

n (surg) colgajo
English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
References in classic literature ?
This flapper is likewise employed diligently to attend his master in his walks, and upon occasion to give him a soft flap on his eyes; because he is always so wrapped up in cogitation, that he is in manifest danger of falling down every precipice, and bouncing his head against every post; and in the streets, of justling others, or being justled himself into the kennel.
There stood by him, on each side, a young page with flaps in their hands, and when they saw he was at leisure, one of them gently struck his mouth, and the other his right ear; at which he startled like one awaked on the sudden, and looking towards me and the company I was in, recollected the occasion of our coming, whereof he had been informed before.
In the bottom of his heart each prayed that they might come safely through just this night, for they knew that during the morrow they would make the final stretch, yet the nerves of each were taut with strained anticipation of what gruesome thing might flap down upon them from the black sky, marking another for its own.
From hand to hand, the buckets went in the deepest silence, only broken by the occasional flap of a sail, and the steady hum of the unceasingly advancing keel.
But it was not so; in the evening poor Skye brought them back again, one by one in her mouth; not the happy little things that they were, but bleeding and crying pitifully; they had all had a piece of their tails cut off, and the soft flap of their pretty little ears was cut quite off.
Never did duster flap more briskly than the one Rose used that day, and never was a room "scrabbled" to rights in such haste as hers.
When she had slipped this on over her head, I exchanged the boy's cap she wore for a man's cap, large enough to cover her hair, and, when the flap was turned down, to completely cover her neck and ears.
"Come and drink some beer with me at the Silenus," said the robust Ossipon after an interval of silence pervaded by the rapid flap, flap of the slippers on the feet of the Perfect Anarchist.
And then a reflection moved within the polished surface of the tiny glass, the man's eyes shot back out of space to the mirror's face, and in it he saw reflected the grim visage of Achmet Zek, framed in the flaps of the tent doorway behind him.
It was two hours later that the flaps at the front of the tent separated silently and gave entrance to a dark-robed figure, which passed noiselessly from the darkness without to the darkness within.
Radial forearm free flap is also considered by many as the gold standard for lip reconstruction.2 In cases where more than one subunit of face are involved like upper lip, lower lip, buccal mucosa or cheek, it is a challenge to address all the issues in a single stage while maintaining acceptable aesthetics in formation of oral commissure and achieving goals like oral continence and mouth opening.
This flap provides soft, supple, non-hair bearing tissue with minimal donor site morbidity and a well-hidden scar [4].