[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/flaps/)

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# flaps

verb form (flaps, from flap); noun plural (flaps, of flap)

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

## Everyday

1. Flaps is the form of «flap» used with he, she or it: «The bird flaps its wings.» [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flaps/#m1)
2. Flaps is the plural of the noun «flap»: flat pieces fixed on one side that cover openings, or movable parts on an aeroplane wing. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flaps/#m2)

### In the lessons

In science, a bird flaps its wings; an aeroplane lowers its flaps to slow down and land. In books, lift-the-flap pages hide pictures. Phrases: «flaps its wings», «the wing flaps», «pocket flaps».

### Examples

- The duck flaps its wings in the water. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flaps/#x1)
- The plane's flaps come down before it lands. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flaps/#x2)
- Lift the flaps to find the hidden animals. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flaps/#x3)
- My jacket has flaps over the pockets. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flaps/#x4)
- The washing flaps on the line. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flaps/#x5)
- A hummingbird flaps its wings very fast. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flaps/#x6)
- The pilot checked the flaps before take-off. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flaps/#x7)
- On the following morning at daybreak, peeped the people out of half-open door-flaps. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/flaps/#x8)

### Note

See «flap» for the meanings. Third person: he/she/it flaps; plural noun: one flap, two flaps.

## Early Modern English

### Meaning

loose hanging coverings over an opening, such as the door of a tent or hut. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/F/flaps/#m1)

### Then and now

Today a flap is a loose hanging part of something, such as an envelope or a wing; here it means the hanging cover over a doorway, a sense now rare.

### Examples

- On the following morning at daybreak, peeped the people out of half-open door-flaps. (Old Indian Legends) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/F/flaps/#x1)
- \[Footnote 3: 'Pinners' were coifs with two long side-flaps pinned on. 'Double-pinners'--with two side-flaps on each side--accurately translates the French cornettes à deux rangs.\] (The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/F/flaps/#x2)
- Very early the oval-shaped door-flaps were thrust aside and many brown faces peered out of the wigwams toward the top of the highest bluff. (Old Indian Legends) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/F/flaps/#x3)

### Note

Today: curtains or flaps.

## On Mova

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