flap

/flæp/

/flæp/

Other forms: flapping; flapped; flaps

You're probably familiar with the verb to "flap," which is what birds do with their wings. But as a noun, a flap is a fuss, an argument, or a gossipy feud.

A big part of the pleasure of reality TV shows is watching how quickly a person can start a flap. A dumb remark, a furtive glance, a missed phone call: any of these things can start the characters bickering. And the flap can go on for an entire season! One way to remember the meaning of the verb to flap is to imagine the sound of many wings flapping. That's the sound a flap might make if you could hear it. The leak from the senator's press agent might have caused a firestorm. Instead it resulted in just a minor flap.

Definitions of flap

1. verb

   move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion
   synonyms: roll, undulate, wave

   types:

   luff

   flap when the wind is blowing equally on both sides

   type of:

   move

   move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion
2. verb

   move with a thrashing motion
   “The bird flapped its wings”

   synonyms: beat

   beat

   move with a flapping motion

   types:

   flutter

   flap the wings rapidly or fly with flapping movements

   bate

   flap the wings wildly or frantically; used of falcons

   clap

   cause to strike the air in flight

   type of:

   displace, move

   cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense
3. verb

   move with a flapping motion
   “The bird's wings were flapping”

   synonyms: beat

   beat

   move with a thrashing motion

   types:

   flail, thresh

   move like a flail; thresh about

   clap

   strike the air in flight

   type of:

   move

   move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion
4. verb

   move noisily
   “flags flapped in the strong wind”

   type of:

   beat, pound, thump

   move rhythmically
5. noun

   the motion made by flapping up and down
   synonyms: flapping, flutter, fluttering

   type of:

   undulation, wave

   (physics) a movement up and down or back and forth
6. noun

   any broad, thin, and limber covering attached at one edge; hangs loose or projects freely
   “he wrote on the flap of the envelope”

   types:

   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

   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

   lap, overlap

   a flap that lies over another part

   pocket flap

   a flap that covers the access to a pocket

   fly, fly sheet, rainfly, tent flap, tent-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

   cuff, turnup

   the lap consisting of a turned-back hem encircling the end of the sleeve or leg

   lapel

   lap at the front of a coat; continuation of the coat collar

   lappet

   a small lap on a garment or headdress

   type of:

   covering

   an artifact that covers something else (usually to protect or shelter or conceal it)
7. noun

   a movable piece of tissue partly connected to the body
   types:

   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

   cusp, leaflet

   a thin triangular flap of a heart valve

   eyelid, lid, palpebra

   either of two folds of skin that can be moved to cover or open the eye

   nictitating membrane, third eyelid

   a protective fold of skin in the eyes of reptiles and birds and some mammals

   type of:

   animal tissue

   the tissue in the bodies of animals
8. noun

   a movable airfoil that is part of an aircraft wing; used to increase lift or drag
   synonyms: flaps

   types:

   landing flap

   a flap on the underside of the wing that is lowered to slow the plane for landing

   type of:

   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
9. noun

   an excited state of agitation
   “there was a terrible flap about the theft”

   synonyms: dither, fuss, pother, tizzy

   type of:

   agitation

   a mental state of extreme emotional disturbance
10. verb

    make a fuss; be agitated
    synonyms: dither, pother

    type of:

    fret, fuss, niggle

    worry unnecessarily or excessively
11. verb

    pronounce with a flap, of alveolar sounds
    type of:

    articulate, enounce, enunciate, pronounce, say, sound out

    speak, pronounce, or utter in a certain way