Meanings
plural clap nets · alternative clap-net · alternative clapnet
- A net for catching birds or insects, which can be drawn closed by pulling a string.
The clap net is the grand weapon of the entomologist : it is a large piece of muslin, four feet long, and nearly three wide.
1835, Edward Newman, The Grammar of Entomology, page 2651 more example
One day the colonel, who was very keen on hunting, took me with him when he went out to catch partridges with a clap-net [translating Tyras], an invention which impressed me very much.
1999, Mike Mitchell, translating HJC von Grimmelshausen, Simplicissimus, II.21, Dedalus 2016, p. 158
Cite this entry
clap net. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clap%20net
“clap net.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clap%20net. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “clap net,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clap%20net.
Source: clap net on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.