applause
- 01 B1 Intermediate
the sound of people clapping their hands to show they enjoyed something.
the act of expressing approval or commendation, usually through the collective clapping of hands by an audience.
Simple“The audience broke into loud applause after the pianist finished the final song.”
In context“The speaker's closing remarks were met with a thunderous round of applause that lasted for several minutes.”
UsageThis noun is uncountable and does not take a plural form; use 'a round of applause' to count instances.
Teacher's tipLearners often try to say 'applause' as a plural noun; remind them to use 'a round of' or 'much' instead of 'many'.
From Latin applausus, from applaudō (“I strike against, I applaud”) (whence applaud).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.