Word.ws English Dictionary

claps on

claps on is the third-person singular simple present indicative of clap on.

Meaning of clap on

Verb

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

  1. (transitive) To temporarily add something to an existing part, especially to add an additional sail to take advantage of a fair wind.
    • We spring out of our berths, clap on a monkey-jacket and south-wester, and tumble up the ladder.1840, R[ichard] H[enry] D[ana], Jr., “CHAPTER XXXV”, in Two Years before the Mast. […] (Harper’s Family Library; no. CVI), New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers […], →OCLC
  2. (transitive) To encourage by (or as if by) applauding.
  3. (UK, colloquial) To talk at tedious length; to whinge.
    • […] clapping on about having to live on a small income because of her son's lack of ambition.2020, Dorothy Cannell, Murder at Mullings
  4. (US, dated, slang) To decide to make a concerted effort to do something; to operate with dedication and vigor.

Questions about claps on

What is claps on the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Claps on is the third-person singular simple present indicative of clap on.

Words near claps on in the dictionary

  1. claps
  2. claps back
  3. claps cheeks
  4. claps eyes on
  5. claps in
  6. claps on
  7. claps one's cheeks
  8. claps out
  9. claps someone's cheeks
  10. claps together
  11. claps up

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: claps on (page history and authors); clap on (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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Cite this entry: “claps on.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/claps_on. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.