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Glite Dictionary
handclapping

handclapping

2.4
Making a sound by hitting your hands together to show approval or during games and music
  • noun
  • /ˈhændˌklæpɪŋ/
translation icon : aplausos
  • The audience showed their appreciation for the performance with enthusiastic handclapping.

Examples

  • As the band played their final song, the crowd erupted in handclapping and cheers.

  • Here, African-American children engaged in the task with interest, and they readily coordinated movement and handclapping with the rehearsal activity.

    Academic text (1992)

  • [Slow handclapping]

    Triangle of Sadness (2022)

  • Integrate children's culture into world music lessons. Include handclapping games, childhood chants, and other game songs, as well as fables, riddles, and fairy tales.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Witness heel stamping (taconeo), finger snapping (pito), and sharp handclapping patterns (palmada).

    Academic text (1999)

  • During the school assembly, the students joined together in handclapping to the rhythm of the song.

Synonyms

hand clapping
vshandclapping
1 1.0

Striking the palms of your hands together repeatedly to show approval or admiration

includes uses in games, music, or dance as well as showing approval

Antonyms

silence
660 2.0

A period with no sound or speech

How Enthusiastic

applause
647 1.0
handclapping
2.4
clap
23 1.0

Surface Forms

handclapping singular
handclappings plural

Morphology

handclapping = hand + clap (transparent) = hand + clap + ing

The word is built from clear components meaning 'clap with the hands', so its sense is directly recoverable from the parts.

Etymology

The word handclapping is made of hand and clap, and clap copies the sharp sound 'clap' you make when you hit two hands together. So handclapping is the act of making that sound with your hands in games, music, or to show approval.