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clap

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clap back

1. verb To respond to an insult or criticism, sometimes in a vengeful manner. She calmly clapped back at critics by asserting that her weight is none of their business. I'm not proud of it, but I did clap back at the girl who stole my boyfriend by starting a vicious rumor about her.

2. noun A response to an insult or criticism, sometimes in a vengeful manner. I'm not great at the clap back because I get easily flustered by criticism. Her clap back was a vicious rumor targeting the girl that stole her boyfriend.

See also: back, clap

clap eyes on someone or something

to see someone or something, perhaps for the first time; to set eyes on someone or something. I wish she had never clapped eyes on her fiancé. I haven't clapped eyes on a red squirrel for years.

See also: clap, eye, on

clap someone in(to) some place

to shove or push someone into a place, usually jail. Be good or the sheriff will clap you into jail. The cops clapped Max into a cell.

See also: clap, place

clap something on(to) something

to slap or attack something onto something else. The police came and clapped a sign onto the car saying it was abandoned. Do not clap any signs on my fence.

See also: clap, on

clap something out

to clap the rhythmic beat of something in order to learn it. (Said of music.) All right, now. Let's clap the rhythm out. We'll clap out the rhythm in time with our singing.

See also: clap, out

clap something together

to slap two things, usually hands, together so that they make a noise. The boys clapped their hands together whenever a goal was scored. One of the orchestra members clapped two blocks of wood together periodically, making a very loud noise.

See also: clap, together

lay eyes on somebody/something

also set eyes on somebody/something

to see someone or something She did not want to lay eyes on this man ever again. My mother had fallen in love with my father when she first set eyes on him.

See also: eye, lay, on

clapped-out

  (British & Australian informal)

if something, especially a car, is clapped-out, it is in a very bad condition because it is old or has been used a lot He still drives a clapped-out Mini which he bought when he was at college.

lay/set eyes on somebody/something

  (British, American & Australian) also clap eyes on somebody/something (British & Australian)

to see someone or something for the first time I've loved him ever since I first set eyes on him. I wish I'd never clapped eyes on that money.

See also: eye, lay, on

clap eyes on

see under lay eyes on.

See also: clap, eye, on

lay eyes on

Also, clap or set eyes on . Look at, see, as in As soon as I laid eyes on him I knew he would be perfect for the lead in our play, or I'd never set eyes on such a beautiful gown. The first term dates from the early 1200s and the third from the late 1300s; the second, using clap in the sense of "a sudden movement," dates from the first half of the 1800s.

See also: eye, lay, on

clap

n. a case of gonorrhea. (Very old and still in use.) He thinks he got the clap from her.

golf-clap

n. a quiet kind of “patting” applause like that made in golf tournaments. (One had quietly claps against the back of the other hand.) The audience sat there throughout. Not even a little golf clap. I think our act is washed up.

clap

/lay/set (one's) eyes on

To look at.