From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishflapflap1 /flæp/ ●○○ noun 1 flat piece of something [countable]PIECE a thin flat piece of cloth, paper, skin etc that is fixed by one edge to a surface, which you can lift up easily the tent flap A loose flap of skin covered the wound. → cat flap2 movement [singular]SOUND the noisy movement of something such as cloth in the air the flap of the sails3 → a flap4 part of aircraft [countable]TTA a part of the wing of an aircraft that can be raised or lowered to help the aircraft go up or down
Examples from the Corpus
flap• Kelly resigned over a flap about videotaping interviews with job seekers.• The headgear was so tight around the forehead that my brain began to ache, but the ear flaps dangled.• With undercarriage down and full flap these symptoms are further exaggerated, and the speed comes back to below eighty.• He prefers to suffer quietly through the periodic flaps.• Cars and lorries hooting, accelerating and braking put Dawn into a real flap.• They had thick flat soles, to each side of which was stretched a straight flap of leather.• The return address was on the flap of the envelope.• Remembering the cup in her pocket, she pressed her hand over the flap to hide it.• All we could hear was the flap of the sails.• Two hours later, when the flaps of the box folded down, the antenna unfurled.• The flap over the name is only the latest that has made Marana the butt of local jokes.flapflap2 ●○○ verb (flapped, flapping) 1 [intransitive, transitive]HBBSHAKE if a bird flaps its wings, it moves them up and down in order to fly2 [intransitive, transitive]SHAKE to move quickly up and down or from side to side, often making a noise The flags were flapping in the breeze. Flap your arms to keep warm.3 [intransitive] British English informalEXCITED to behave in an excited or nervous way There’s no need to flap!→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
flap• Her wings flapped, and the duck took immediate flight.• With his arm on the window well, he cruised down the street, the breeze flapping his sleeve.• His shirt-tails flapping in the breeze, he faced the green at an angle of forty-five degrees and sliced every shot.• Gloria lead Dot up the outside steps from the basement to look at the cotton flags flapping in the sun.• The ship's sails flapped in the wind.• Intangible winds gripped the wizard's robe, flapping it out in eddies of blue and green sparks.• A pair of night birds circled above, the flapping of their wings and their eerie screeches penetrating the thickening mist.• She watched the next scene; nurses running towards a hospital, their unbuttoned navy-blue coats flapping over pale uniforms.Origin flap2 (1300-1400) Perhaps from the sound 