to lap
14
3.0
- verb
- /læp/
- The gentle waves lap against the boat as we drift in the calm sea.
- water lapped around
- waves lapping the shore
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Watch on YouTubeI am the sound of a rock or raft around which water laps bubbles and hard candy that cut your tongue and make your candy taste like blood.
- I am the sound of a rock or raft around which water laps bubbles and hard candy that cut your tongue and make your candy taste like blood.
Examples
-
You could hear the water lapping against the shore.
-
The night is quiet except for the ruffled water lapping at the rock-lined shore.
Academic text (1993) -
The water's lapping up on me, honey!
-
Expect those waves to be lapping a bit higher each year.
Academic text (2006) -
Below them, Devil's Lake lapped at the wood, trying to reach them.
Fiction book (1994) -
Truth is, I'm standing on a pier with the waters lapping gently below.
-
The sounds you hear will be the birds singing or water lapping at the sides of the mokoro.
Academic text (1999) -
At high tide, the waters lapped almost to the seawall behind Omaha Beach.
Academic text (1994) -
Jacob's father stands in the Florida surf as sea foam laps gently at his legs.
Fiction book (1990) -
Self limps on toward the harbor's edge, where water laps oolitic mud and sand.
Fiction book (1997)
Synonyms
276
2.3
To carry away soil or rock by moving water
1
9.9
To wash someone or something gently with water
Antonyms
Idioms
Phrasal Verbs
- Informal
1
3.2
To sit or lie with your body curved on someone's lap for warmth and comfort
Compounds
How Strong
Surface Forms
Etymology
The verb lap for water comes from a sound word meaning 'to strike softly', so small waves 'lap' the shore with a gentle touch and sound. That sound-and-motion image explains why water 'laps' at the boat.