clap back

present singular third person claps back · participle present clapping back · participle past clapped back · past clapped back

1. informalintransitiveTo make a witty or sarcastic retort.

   Many of Mr. Shapiro’s targets also spoke at AmericaFest. One after another, they took the stage to clap back.

   2025 December 20, Richard Fausset, Ken Bensinger, “Turning Point’s Annual Gathering Turns Into a Gripefest”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC

   1 more example

   On Monday night, President Trump tweeted a clip of Ms. Thunberg's speech, along with a message many believed to be sarcastic. "She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future," he wrote. "So nice to see!" Ms. Thunberg, who has nearly two million Twitter followers of her own, clapped back in her bio, which had been changed on Tuesday: "A very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future."

   2019 September 24, Karen Zraick, “Greta Thunberg, After Pointed U.N. Speech, Faces Attacks From the Right”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 04 Jun 2023