pap
noun · verb · adjective
Simple meaning
Food in the form of a soft paste, often a porridge.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
papIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpæp
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.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
uncountable
Food in the form of a soft paste, often a porridge, especially as given to very young children.
by extension
A positive airway pressure machine, a PAP device.
A screening test meant to detect precancerous and cancerous cells by taking a sample ('smear') of cells from the cervix.
The pulp of fruit.
informal
A freelance photographer who sells photographs of celebrities to the media, especially one who pursues celebrities and attempts to obtain candid photographs.
Alternative letter-case form of Pap ("Pap smear").
verb
informalusually passive voice
To take a surreptitious photograph of (someone, especially a celebrity) without their consent.
adjective
south africaslang
Spineless, wet, without character.
south africaslang
Weak, feeble; lacking substance.
south africaslang
Flat.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
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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.