Word.ws English Dictionary

handclapping

handclapping noun: the activity of clapping hands, especially as part of a musical performance.

Noun

handclapping (countable and uncountable, plural handclappings)

  1. The activity of clapping hands, especially as part of a musical performance.
    • With an air of having accomplished her intention, Aunt Alice sat down amid great cheers and handclappings from the opposite side.1904, Carolyn Wells, “The Debate”, in Patty at Home, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, →OCLC, page 12
    • The open air, like a vast bell of glass, clamped down over them, muffling the volume, reducing the impact and precision of their notes: for all its ardour, the Linfield Rhythm Quartette remained a background noise only; an accompaniment to the talk, the laughter, the sudden shouts and handclappings.1945, Betty Miller, On the Side of the Angels, London: Capuchin Classics, published 2012, →ISBN, page 102

handclapping meaning in Tagalog

handclapping in Tagalog

activity of clapping hands
talampi, palakpak

Examples of handclapping in a sentence

  • The bright smiles and handclappings which Charleston ladies bestowed upon the receding delegates were applause for an irrevocable step toward war; […]1950, Allan Nevins, “The Democratic Rupture”, in The Emergence of Lincoln, volumes II (Prologue to Civil War, 1859-1861), New York, N.Y....
  • Giménez accompanied by six-beat handclapping, were soon overlaid with DJ Panko’s scratching or Javier Martin’s thumb-popping bass lines.2007 June 30, Jon Pareles, “Far Beyond Flamenco, a Zest for Rhythms (and Politics)”, in New York Times:

Forms of handclapping

pluralhandclappings

Origin of handclapping

From hand + clapping.

Questions about handclapping

What does handclapping mean?
Handclapping means the activity of clapping hands, especially as part of a musical performance.
What is handclapping in Tagalog?
Handclapping in Tagalog is talampi, palakpak. See Handclapping meaning in Tagalog.
How do you use handclapping in a sentence?
The bright smiles and handclappings which Charleston ladies bestowed upon the receding delegates were applause for an irrevocable step toward war; […]
What part of speech is handclapping?
Handclapping is a noun.
What is the plural of handclapping?
The plural of handclapping is handclappings.

Words near handclapping in the dictionary

  1. handcarts
  2. handcarved
  3. handclap
  4. handclapper
  5. handclappers
  6. handclapping
  7. handclappings
  8. handclaps
  9. handclasp
  10. handclasps
  11. handcloth

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: handclapping (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: “handclapping.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/handclapping. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.