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# clappers

noun (clappers, plural; a clapper, singular)

«clappers» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. The metal tongue or ball hanging inside a bell that hits it to make it ring (a clapper). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clappers/#m1)
2. (UK, informal) In «like the clappers»: very fast or very hard («run like the clappers»). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clappers/#m2)
3. A device that makes a clapping noise, for example to scare birds, or the clapperboard used when filming. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clappers/#m3)

### In the lessons

In everyday British, Irish, Australian and New Zealand speech, «go like the clappers» means go extremely fast. In music and church life the clapper is what makes a bell ring. It tells the reader about bells or great speed.

### Examples

- We ran like the clappers to catch the bus. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clappers/#x1)
- The bell's clapper swung and struck the side. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clappers/#x2)
- The bell-ringers checked the clappers before Sunday service. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clappers/#x3)
- Grandad drove like the clappers to get us to the hospital in time. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clappers/#x4)
- The rain came down like the clappers. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clappers/#x5)
- A clapper scared the birds off the field. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clappers/#x6)

### Note

Singular «clapper», plural «clappers»; the idiom always uses the plural: «like the clappers». It is informal British-style English and is not common in the USA. Not the same as «clapping» (hitting your hands together).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «clappers» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/clappers/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«clappers» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/clappers.html) on Mova free.