Word.ws English Dictionary

clap up

clap up verb: to imprison.

Verb

clap up (third-person singular simple present claps up, present participle clapping up, simple past and past participle clapped up)

  1. to imprison
    • orders were sent down for clapping up three of the chief remonstratorsa. 1716 (date written), [Gilbert] Burnet, edited by [Gilbert Burnet Jr.], Bishop Burnet’s History of His Own Time. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] Thomas Ward […], published...
    • precious Master Lyndwode hath his deserts at last; he's clapped up safe in the Gate-house1852, Hannah Lawrence, The Treasure-seeker's Daughter
  2. To complete a marriage ceremony.
    • Parents should clap up their children's wedding ceremonies as quickly as possible.

Forms of clap up

third-person singular presentclaps up
present participleclapping up
past participleclapped up
pastclapped up

Questions about clap up

What does clap up mean?
Clap up means to imprison.
What part of speech is clap up?
Clap up is a verb.
What is the past tense of clap up?
The past tense of clap up is clapped up.

Words near clap up in the dictionary

  1. clap out
  2. clap skate
  3. clap skates
  4. clap someone's cheeks
  5. clap together
  6. clap up
  7. clap-bread
  8. clap-breads
  9. clap-in-clap-out
  10. clap-o-meter
  11. clap-o-meters

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: clap up (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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