clap on

verb

To temporarily add something to an existing part, especially to add an additional sail to take advantage of a fair wind.

Similar
slap onslam on
First used 19th c.
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Meanings

verbclap on (third-person singular simple present claps on, present participle clapping on, simple past and past participle clapped on)

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

  1. transitivenauticalTo temporarily add something to an existing part, especially to add an additional sail to take advantage of a fair wind.

    We spring out of our berths, clap on a monkey-jacket and south-wester, and tumble up the ladder.

    1840, R[ichard] H[enry] D[ana], Jr., “CHAPTER XXXV”, in Two Years before the Mast. […] (Harper’s Family Library; no. CVI), New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers […], →OCLC
  2. transitiveTo encourage by (or as if by) applauding.
  3. UKcolloquialTo talk at tedious length; to whinge.

    […] clapping on about having to live on a small income because of her son's lack of ambition.

    2020, Dorothy Cannell, Murder at Mullings
  4. USdatedslangTo decide to make a concerted effort to do something; to operate with dedication and vigor.First known use 19th c.

Synonyms & antonyms

verbapply carelessly

Similar
slap onslam on
Broader
put onapply
Also see
slap on

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry
APA

clap on. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clap%20on

MLA

“clap on.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clap%20on. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “clap on,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clap%20on.

Source: clap on on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.