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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

clap on en · VERB

Pronunciation

Meanings

  1. (transitive) To temporarily add something to an existing part, especially to add an additional sail to take advantage of a fair wind.
    • We spring out of our berths, clap on a monkey-jacket and south-wester, and tumble up the ladder. 1840, R[ichard] H[enry] D[ana], Jr., “CHAPTER XXXV”, in Two Years before the Mast. […] (Harper’s Family Library; no. CVI), New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers […], →OCLC:
  2. (transitive) To encourage by (or as if by) applauding.
  3. (UK, colloquial) To talk at tedious length; to whinge.
    • […] clapping on about having to live on a small income because of her son's lack of ambition. 2020, Dorothy Cannell, Murder at Mullings:
  4. (US, dated, slang) To decide to make a concerted effort to do something; to operate with dedication and vigor.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
claps on Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
clapped on Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
clapped on Tense=Past lexicographic
clapping on Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic