flap

/flæp/

Thân thiện

The pilot lowers the flap before landing.

Definition

1. Noun:

   • A movable airfoil on an aircraft wing: A hinged or sliding section on the wing of an airplane, used to increase lift or drag during takeoff and landing.
   • A piece of material attached on one side: Any broad, thin, and flexible covering or piece that is attached at one edge and hangs loose or can move freely.
   • A state of agitation or nervous excitement: A condition of being flustered, worried, or in a commotion.
   • The motion of something moving loosely back and forth: The action or sound of something swinging or moving up and down.

2. Verb:

   • To move up and down or back and forth: To swing or wave loosely and often noisily.
   • To move (wings or arms) with a beating motion: To move wings or similar limbs up and down, typically to fly or signal.
   • To be agitated or panicky: To become nervous, upset, or to make a fuss.
   • (Phonetics) To pronounce with a flap: To articulate a sound (like the 't' in 'water' in some accents) with a single, quick tap of the tongue.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The pilot extended the flaps to slow the plane for landing.
  • He sealed the envelope and tucked in the flap.
  • There was a huge flap in the office when the news broke.
  • We heard the steady flap of the flag in the breeze.

• Verb:

  • The sails began to flap as the wind died down.
  • The bird flapped its wings furiously to escape.
  • Don't flap—we have plenty of time to finish the project.
  • In some dialects, speakers flap the 't' in words like 'butter'.

Advanced Usage

• "to be in a flap": To be in a state of nervous excitement or panic.

  • She was in a real flap trying to get ready for the important guests.

• "flap one's gums/jaws" (informal): To talk excessively or idly; to chatter.

  • He was just flapping his gums and not saying anything important.

Variants and Related Words

• Flapper (n): Historically, a young woman in the 1920s who flouted conventional behavior. More literally, a person or thing that flaps.
• Flappy (adj): Tending to flap; loose and apt to move in the wind.
  • The hat had a flappy brim.

Synonyms

• Noun (for agitation): Fuss, commotion, dither, tizzy, turmoil.
• Verb (for movement): Beat, flutter, wave, wag, swing, thrash.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Flap about/around:
  • To move around with a flapping motion.

    • The sheets were flapping about on the clothesline.
  • To behave in a nervous, agitated, or inefficient manner.

    • Stop flapping about and tell me what's wrong.

Related Idioms

• Flap your ears (slang, humorous): To listen in, especially to a private conversation.
  • Were you flapping your ears while we were talking?
• Get into a flap: To become agitated or panicked.
  • There's no need to get into a flap over a small mistake.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a movable airfoil that is part of an aircraft wing; used to increase lift or drag
2. a movable piece of tissue partly connected to the body
3. the motion made by flapping up and down
4. an excited state of agitation
   • he was in a dither
   • there was a terrible flap about the theft
5. any broad thin and limber covering attached at one edge; hangs loose or projects freely
   • he wrote on the flap of the envelope

Verb

1. pronounce with a flap, of alveolar sounds
2. make a fuss; be agitated
3. move with a flapping motion
   • The bird's wings were flapping
4. move with a thrashing motion
   • The bird flapped its wings
   • The eagle beat its wings and soared high into the sky
5. move noisily
   • flags flapped in the strong wind
6. move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion
   • The curtains undulated
   • the waves rolled towards the beach

Từ đồng nghĩa

• flaps
• flapping
• flutter
• fluttering
• dither
• pother
• fuss
• tizzy
• beat
• roll
• undulate
• wave