VocabauraVOCABAURA

flap

noun · verb

Simple meaning

Any broad thin and limber covering attached at one edge.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

flap
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈflæp

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. Any broad thin and limber covering attached at one edge; hangs loose or projects freely

  2. Anything broad and flexible that hangs loose, or that is attached by one side or end and is easily moved.

  3. The motion of anything broad and loose, or a sound or stroke made with it.

  4. aviation

    A hinged surface on the trailing edge of the wings of an aeroplane, used to increase lift and drag.

  5. A side fin of a ray.

  6. A hinged leaf.

verb

  1. Move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion

  2. Move noisily

    “Flags flapped in the strong wind.”

  3. Move with a thrashing motion

  4. transitive

    To move (something broad and loose) up and down.

  5. intransitive

    To move loosely back and forth.

  6. Move with a flapping motion

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Any broad thin and limber covering attached at one edge; hangs loose or projects freely

Used this way, flap is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “flap”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Broad / anything

free flapskin flapmuscle flap

Movable

bone flap

Other combinations

tent flapfront flapadvancement flaptram flap

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • flapsnounPlural form

    A movable airfoil that is part of an aircraft wing.

  • flappingnounInflected form

    The motion made by flapping up and down.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • flap downverbCompound term

    Throw violently.

  • pocket flapnounCompound term

    A flap that covers the access to a pocket.

  • tent flapnounCompound term

    Flap consisting of a piece of canvas that can be drawn back to provide entrance to a tent.

  • flip-flapadverbCompound term

    With repeated strokes and noise.

  • landing flapnounCompound term

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

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: move in a wavy pattern

flutterundulateRare

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “flap” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.