flap

[flap] /flæp/
verb (used without object), flapped, flapping.
1.
to swing or sway back and forth loosely, especially with noise:
A loose shutter flapped outside the window.
2.
to move up and down, as wings; flap the wings, or make similar movements.
3.
to strike a blow with something broad and flexible.
4.
Slang. to become excited or confused, especially under stress:
a seasoned diplomat who doesn't flap easily.
verb (used with object), flapped, flapping.
5.
to move (wings, arms, etc.) up and down.
6.
to cause to swing or sway loosely, especially with noise.
7.
to strike with something broad and flat.
8.
to toss, fold, shut, etc., smartly, roughly, or noisily.
9.
Phonetics. to pronounce (a sound) with articulation resembling that of a flap:
The British often flap their r's.
noun
10.
something flat and broad that is attached at one side only and hangs loosely or covers an opening:
the flap of an envelope; the flap of a pocket.
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.
a blow given with something broad and flat.
16.
Slang.
  1. a state of nervous excitement, commotion, or disorganization.
  2. an emergency situation.
  3. scandal; trouble.
17.
Surgery. a portion of skin or flesh that is partially separated from the body and may subsequently be transposed by grafting.
18.
Aeronautics. a movable surface used for increasing the lift or drag of an airplane.
19.
Phonetics.
  1. 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 the common American pronunciation of water.
  2. a trill.
  3. a flipping out of the lower lip from a position of pressure against the upper teeth so as to produce an audible pop, as in emphatic utterances containing f -sounds or v -sounds.
20.
Building Trades.
  1. Also called backflap hinge, flap hinge. a hinge having a strap or plate for screwing to the face of a door, shutter, or the like.
  2. one leaf of a hinge.
Origin
1275-1325; Middle English flappe a blow, slap, flappen to hit, slap; compare Dutch flap, flappen
Related forms
flapless, adjective
unflapping, adjective
Examples from the web for flap
  • The flap of the envelope should be plain and the point not unduly long.
  • The beasts trumpet loudly, flap their ears and turn in circles.
  • When hemorrhaging occurs on either flap, the normally flexible folds swell and impair proper functioning.
  • Once it nears the surface again, it can flap its tail and taxi without fully returning to the water.
  • Zipper-sealed flap protects your gear from the elements.
  • They don't need to flap their wings as often as smaller birds.
  • They also have a flap of skin on the bottom of their necks called a dewlap.
  • Expandable mesh pocket with flap-and-buckle closure.
  • When a water flea or some other small creature swims past, it bends trigger hairs on the bladder, causing a flap to open.
  • He put his pinkie in the hole and observed that a flap of canvas had been pushed back.
British Dictionary definitions for flap

flap

/flæp/
verb flaps, flapping, 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.
(intransitive) (informal) to become agitated or flustered; panic
4.
to deal (a person or thing) a blow with a broad flexible object
5.
(transitive) sometimes foll by down. to toss, fling, slam, etc, abruptly or noisily
6.
(transitive) (phonetics) to pronounce (an (r) sound) by allowing the tongue to give a single light tap against the alveolar ridge or uvula
noun
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.
a movable surface fixed to the trailing edge of an aircraft wing that increases lift during takeoff and drag during landing
11.
(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) an (r) produced by allowing the tongue to give a single light tap against the alveolar ridge or uvula
Word Origin
C14: probably of imitative origin
Word Origin and History for flap
n.

mid-14c., flappe "a blow, slap," probably imitative of the sound of striking. Meaning "something that hangs down" is first recorded 1520s. Sense of "motion or noise like a bird's wing" is 1774; meaning "disturbance, noisy tumult" is 1916, British slang.

v.

early 14c., "dash about, shake;" later "strike, hit;" see flap (n.). Meaning "to swing loosely" is from 1520s. Related: Flapped; flapping.

flap in Medicine

flap (flāp)
n.
Tissue used in surgical grafting that is only partially detached from its donor site so that it continues to be nourished during transfer to the recipient site.

Slang definitions & phrases for flap

flap

noun
  1. Disturbance; tumult; fuss: Law was one direction open to me with the least amount of flap (1916+ British)
  2. A fight between street gangs; rumble (1950s+ Street gang)
  3. A white person: I wouldn't give a fuck what you or the flap or anybody thought 'bout it (1990s+ Black street gang)
verb

To become flustered; lose one's composure: I've seen him under hostile pressure before. He doesn't flap and he doesn't become a doormat (1920s+)


flap in Technology


A symbolic mathematics package for IBM 360.
["FLAP Programmer's Manual", A.H. Morris Jr., TR-2558 (1971) US Naval Weapons Lab].
[Sammet 1969, p. 506].
[Jargon File]
(1994-10-17)


1. To unload a DECtape (so it goes flap, flap, flap). Old-time hackers at MIT tell of the days when the disk was device 0 and microtapes were 1, 2, etc. and attempting to flap device 0 would instead start a motor banging inside a cabinet near the disk.
The term is used, by extension, for unloading any magnetic tape. See also macrotape. Modern cartridge tapes no longer actually flap, but the usage has remained.
The term could well be re-applied to DEC's TK50 cartridge tape drive, a spectacularly misengineered contraption which makes a loud flapping sound, almost like an old reel-type lawnmower, in one of its many tape-eating failure modes.
2. See flapping router.
[Jargon File]
(1997-06-17)