applaud

[uh-plawd] /əˈplɔd/
verb (used without object)
1.
to clap the hands as an expression of approval, appreciation, acclamation, etc.:
They applauded wildly at the end of the opera.
2.
to express approval; give praise; acclaim.
verb (used with object)
3.
to clap the hands so as to show approval, appreciation, etc., of:
to applaud an actor; to applaud a speech.
4.
to praise or express approval of:
to applaud a person's ambition.
Origin
1530-40; < Latin applaudere, equivalent to ap- ap-1 + plaudere to clap the hands
Related forms
applauder, noun
applaudingly, adverb
overapplaud, verb
reapplaud, verb
self-applauding, adjective
unapplauded, adjective
unapplauding, adjective
well-applauded, adjective
Examples from the web for applaud
  • Fraternities and sororities would orchestrate loud cheering sections to applaud each of their members as they crossed the stage.
  • Parents around the country will surely applaud this effort.
  • One has to applaud the genius of a city that provides not only a complication but its resolution.
  • The people in the audience are actors and entertainers also, but they are looking at him with pride as they applaud.
  • We applaud his ambition, but there are two obvious problems.
  • We applaud this critical distinction between consumption and investment.
  • At the end, his audience rose to applaud as for a piano virtuoso.
  • Part of me wants to applaud these pleas for science's deceleration.
  • The question remains whether this development is something to applaud or to fear.
  • We applaud his efforts to give current candidates a better experience than he had at the disastrous interview he described.
British Dictionary definitions for applaud

applaud

/əˈplɔːd/
verb
1.
to indicate approval of (a person, performance, etc) by clapping the hands
2.
(usually transitive) to offer or express approval or praise of (an action, person, or thing): I applaud your decision
Derived Forms
applauder, noun
applauding, adjective
applaudingly, adverb
Word Origin
C15: from Latin applaudere to clap, from plaudere to beat, applaud
Word Origin and History for applaud
v.

late 15c. (implied in applauding), "to express agreement or approval; to praise," from Latin applaudere "to clap the hands in approbation, to approve by clapping hands; to strike upon, beat," from ad "to" (see ad-) + plaudere "to clap" (see plaudit). Sense of "express approval of" is from 1590s; that of "to clap the hands" is from 1590s. Figurative sense arrived in English before literal. Related: Applauded; applauding.