flaps

flap

F0166600 (flăp)n.1. a. A projecting or hanging piece usually attached to something on one side and often intended to protect or cover: the flap of an envelope.b. Either of the folded ends of a book jacket that fit inside the front and back covers.c. A variable control surface on the trailing edge of an aircraft wing, used primarily to increase lift or drag.d. Medicine A piece of tissue that has been partially detached and used in surgical grafting to fill an adjacent defect or cover the cut end of a bone after amputation.2. a. The act of waving or fluttering: the flap of the flag in the wind.b. The sound produced by this motion.3. Linguistics A sound articulated by a single, quick touch of the tongue against the teeth or alveolar ridge, as (t) in water. Also called tap¹.4. Informal A commotion or disturbance: a flap in Congress over the defense budget.5. Archaic A blow given with something flat; a slap.v. flapped, flap·ping, flaps v.tr.1. To move (wings or arms, for example) up and down.2. To cause to move or sway with a fluttering or waving motion: The wind is flapping the tent fly.3. To cause to strike against something: flapped the paper on the table.v.intr.1. a. To move wings or the arms up and down.b. To fly by beating the air with the wings: The crow flapped away.2. To move or sway while fixed at one edge or corner; flutter: banners flapping in the breeze.

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[Middle English flappe, slap.]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

flaps - a movable airfoil that is part of an aircraft wing; used to increase lift or dragflapaerofoil, airfoil, control surface, surface - a device that provides reactive force when in motion relative to the surrounding air; can lift or control a plane in flightlanding flap - a flap on the underside of the wing that is lowered to slow the plane for landingwing - one of the horizontal airfoils on either side of the fuselage of an airplane