Word
clapped
US/ˈkɫæpt/
UK/klˈæpt/
Definition
adj. very old, broken, or in bad condition. You use this to describe things like cars or buildings that look like they are falling apart.
adj. worn out, exhausted, or in a state of advanced disrepair. Often used in British English to describe machinery or vehicles that have reached the end of their useful life.
Examples
“He drives a clapped out old car.”
“The landlord refused to replace the clapped boiler even though it made a loud banging noise every night.”
“After twenty years of heavy use in the factory, the machinery was completely clapped and required constant maintenance just to keep the production line moving.”
Examples
simple
“He drives a clapped out old car.”
contextual
“The landlord refused to replace the clapped boiler even though it made a loud banging noise every night.”
complex
“After twenty years of heavy use in the factory, the machinery was completely clapped and required constant maintenance just to keep the production line moving.”
Usage
Commonly appears in the phrasal adjective form 'clapped out'. Often follows a linking verb like 'is' or 'looks'.
Pitfall
The car clapped yesterday.
The car is clapped.
In this slang sense, the word is an adjective describing a state, not a verb describing an action.
Real-World Examples
“Lincoln said all the crew had been touched by the gratitude shown by local people, who clapped as they returned from fighting the fire.” “The cause is now aided by mountainous evidence that Britain’s centrist model – the famous “Rolls-Royce” of Whitehall – is now a clapped out jalopy.” Scan code
englishreference.com/q/clapped