Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use flap in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun, verb

Flap means anything broad and flexible that hangs loose, or that is attached by one side or end and is easily moved. Example: “The envelope flap seemed curiously wrinkled.”

Examples of flap by meaning

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

  • a flap of a garment
  • The envelope flap seemed curiously wrinkled.
  • The hairs guide the pollinating insect to the base of the petal, where there is a purplish nectary covered by a flap of tissue.1998 October, Robert H. Mohlenbrock, “Twin Peaks”, in Natural History, volume 107, number 8, page 73

nounA hinged leaf.

  • the flaps of a table
  • the flap of a shutter

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

  • the flap of a sail
  • the flap of a wing
  • Then he commenced to talk, really talk. and inside of two flaps of a herring's fin he had me mesmerized, like Eben Holt's boy at the town hall show.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter IV, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC

nounA controversy, scandal, stir, or upset.

  • The comment caused quite a flap in the newspapers.
  • You must have been in sort of a flap.”1962, Madeleine L’Engle, “Absolute Zero”, in A Wrinkle in Time, New York, N.Y.: Ariel Books, →OCLC; republished New York, N.Y.: Ariel...

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

  • The crow slowly flapped its wings.
  • Startled, the wood pigeon flew off, its wings flapping noisily.
  • He could be flapping his tongue about you right this minute to anybody who'll bloody listen.2004, Robert Jordan, New Spring, page 316

verbTo move loosely back and forth.

  • The flag flapped in the breeze.

verbFor a goalkeeper to weakly attempt to play a flighted ball with the hands, failing to control it.

  • Former Turkey goalkeeper Rustu Recber flapped at his first Delap throw but was given a soft free-kick by referee Antony Gautier.2011 September 29, Tom Rostance, “Stoke 2 - 1 Besiktas”, in BBC Sport

More sentences with flap

  • During taxi, the flaps and slats are extended and the second engine (if not already running) is started.From the entry taxi
  • What's that old coot flapping his gums about this time?From the entry flap one's gums
  • Don't keep flapping off about someone you don't know.From the entry flap off
  • Grandmother walked hard, her steps pummelling the ground, her busuuti flapping.2020, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, The First Woman, Oneworld Publications, page 75. From the entry busuuti
  • Part sport, part fairground attraction, flapping is the bare-knuckle fighting of dog racing.2016, David Matthews, Man Buys Dog. From the entry flapping
  • Anyone found participating in, or even attending, flapping races is liable to be warned off.2016, Gerald Hammond, The Language of Horse Racing, page 81. From the entry warn off
  • She flaps her hands and arms, eyes glaring, head shaking – charading Non, non, NON!2015, Graeme Fife, Tour de France: The History, The Legend, The Riders. From the entry charade
  • There was a good-looking Argentinian couple standing in the open flap of their tent.2015, John Irving, chapter 16, in Avenue of Mysteries, New York: Simon & Schuster. From the entry aerialist
  • One patient wanted the flap reviewed for esthetic reasons. sural and supramalleolar flaps are very reliable.2014 March 18, Alexandre Carvalho Quirino, Karen Cristina Viegas, “Fasciocutaneous flaps for covering foot and ankle injuries☆☆☆”, in…. From the entry supramalleolar
  • Sea butterflies are pteropods: sea snails that swim by flapping pad-like ‘feet’ which have grown into wings.2012, Caspar Henderson, The Book of Barely Imagined Beings, Granta Books, published 2013, page 284. From the entry sea butterfly
  • The gusset is worked first, and then the heel turn, followed by the heel flap.2012, Beth Parrott, Charlene Schurch, The Sock Knitter's Handbook: Expert Advice, Tips, and Tricks. From the entry French heel
  • I made shushy flapping movements with my hands, which only made him screech louder.2012, Caroline Green, Dark Ride. From the entry shushy
  • They were still there the next morning, flapping in the breeze.2011, Rory Barnes, Space Junk, page 14. From the entry daks
  • One young chick is standing on its toes, flapping crazily, squawking a long ‘not-happy-Jan’ cry in penguin-speak.2011, Craig Cormick, In Bed with Douglas Mawson: Travels Around Antarctica, unnumbered page. From the entry not happy, Jan
  • Her mind drifted to thoughts of a lemon martini as she flapped her arms to dry off.2011, Karen Doornebos, Definitely Not Mr. Darcy, →ISBN. From the entry lemon martini
  • For this reason, flaps are best used to resurface convex surfaces.2009, Frederick Menick, “The Nasal Defect – Understanding the Challenge”; “Restoring Contour – Recreating a Subsurface Architecture”, in…. From the entry pincushion
  • “So when we translate,” Lam was saying, “it's all about what we call lip flaps.2009, Shawn Klomparens, Two Years, No Rain, page 49. From the entry lip flap
  • Then, with full flap and maximum throttle, he came chundering along towards us.2008, Jill Dickin Schinas, A Family Outing in the Atlantic, page 156. From the entry chunder
  • I let the cats out because they couldn't be arsed going through the cat flap.2006, Louise Rennison, Startled by His Furry Shorts, HarperCollins, →ISBN, page 104. From the entry cat flap
  • They were just sitting in front of the cat flap and yowling.2006, Louise Rennison, Startled by His Furry Shorts, HarperCollins, →ISBN, page 104. From the entry cat flap
  • The only other breed said to have this flap is the American Keuda.2006, Bruce Fogle, Cats, page 116. From the entry American Keuda
  • Like an underwater detonation, the pool was afroth with flapping and splashing.2005, Robin Cody, Ricochet River, page 139. From the entry afroth
  • The chappe originally meant a flap extension of the grip itself.1998 November 1, John Clements, Medieval Swordsmanship: Illustrated Methods And Techniques, Paladin Press. From the entry chappe
  • Coach Henry Bibby flapped his jaws with the wonderful wind of sarcasm.1997 February 18, Bill Plaschke, “‘Just USC’ Takes That J.R. Shot to Heart”, in Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times…. From the entry flap one's jaws
  • “But I didn’t think he was serious, just flapping his jaw.”1993 February 10, Cathy Horyn, Patricia Dane Rogers, “The Florist’s Final Arrangement”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The…. From the entry flap one's jaw

Meaning of flap

  1. noun Anything broad and flexible that hangs loose, or that is attached by one side or end and is easily moved.
  2. noun A hinged leaf.
  3. noun A hinged surface on the trailing edge of the wings of an aeroplane, used to increase lift and drag.

Full definition of flap

Questions about flap in a sentence

How do you use flap in a sentence?
Flap is used as a noun and verb. For example: “The envelope flap seemed curiously wrinkled.”
What is a short sentence with flap?
“a flap of a garment”
What does flap mean?
Flap means anything broad and flexible that hangs loose, or that is attached by one side or end and is easily moved.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: flap (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use flap in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/flap. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.