Word.ws English Dictionary

slap on the wrist

UK/ˈslæp ɒn ðə ˈɹɪst/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Northern US/ˈslæp ɑn ðə ˈɹɪst/

slap on the wrist verb: synonym of wrist-slap.

Verb

slap on the wrist (third-person singular simple present slaps on the wrist, present participle slapping on the wrist, simple past and past participle slapped on the wrist)

  1. Synonym of wrist-slap.
    • Gorbachev played a skillful diplomatic game in Asia. While enhancing Soviet relations with South Korea—moving from no ties to full diplomatic relations in only three years— he continued to back North Korea, though slapping its leader on the wrist for its nuclear program. While Soviet trade with...1992, Richard Nixon, “The Pacific Triangle”, in Seize the Moment, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 189
    Synonyms:
    wrist-slap
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see slap, wrist.

Noun

slap on the wrist (plural slaps on the wrist or slaps on wrists)

  1. Synonym of wrist-slap.
    • He got a slap on the wrist, but I don't think he'll reform.
    • Although he permitted "slap on the wrist" against the procurement personnel who misprocured on the basis of incorrect technical information, he did nothing against those technical personnel who "perpetrated misconceptions" and disseminated "statements which were inaccurate, unproven, inconsistent"...1983, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs, Management of the Department of Defense, page 29
    Synonyms:
    wrist-slap
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see slap, wrist.

Synonyms of slap on the wrist

Forms of slap on the wrist

Verb
third-person singular presentslaps on the wrist
present participleslapping on the wrist
past participleslapped on the wrist
pastslapped on the wrist
Noun
pluralslaps on the wrist
pluralslaps on wrists

Questions about slap on the wrist

What does slap on the wrist mean?
Slap on the wrist means synonym of wrist-slap.
What part of speech is slap on the wrist?
Slap on the wrist can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce slap on the wrist?
Slap on the wrist is pronounced /ˈslæp ɒn ðə ˈɹɪst/ (UK).
What is the past tense of slap on the wrist?
The past tense of slap on the wrist is slapped on the wrist.

Words near slap on the wrist in the dictionary

  1. slap of five
  2. slap on
  3. slap on the arm
  4. slap on the back
  5. slap on the hand
  6. slap on the wrist
  7. slap print
  8. slap prints
  9. slap shot
  10. slap shots
  11. slap skate

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: slap on the wrist (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.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-slap on the wrist.ogg.

Cite this entry: “slap on the wrist.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/slap_on_the_wrist. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.