# clapper

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈklæpɚ/ · frequency rank #31,917

## Definitions
1. One who claps; a person who applauds by clapping the hands.
2. An object so suspended inside a bell that it may hit the bell and cause it to ring; a clanger or tongue.
3. A wooden mechanical device used as a scarecrow; bird-scaring rattle, a wind-rattle or a wind-clapper.
4. A clapstick (musical instrument).
5. A pounding block.
6. The chattering damsel of a mill.
7. A slapshot
8. The hinged part of a clapperboard, used to synchronise images and soundtrack, or the clapperboard itself.
9. A person's tongue.

## Etymology
From clap + -er.

## Easily confused with
- **copper** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clapper-vs-copper)
- **clipped** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clapper-vs-clipped)
- **clipper** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clapper-vs-clipper)
- **clatter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clapper-vs-clatter)
- **clasped** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clapper-vs-clasped)
- **clippers** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clapper-vs-clippers)
- **caper** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/caper-vs-clapper)
- **capped** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/capped-vs-clapper)
- **camper** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/camper-vs-clapper)
- **Casper** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/casper-vs-clapper)
- **chapter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chapter-vs-clapper)
- **chopper** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chopper-vs-clapper)
- **clapped** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clapped-vs-clapper)
- **clamped** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/clamped-vs-clapper)
- **chipper** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chipper-vs-clapper)

## Common misspellings (9)
`calpper`, `cclapper`, `clapepr`, `claper`, `clapperr`, `clappre`, `cllapper`, `clpaper`, `lcapper`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/clapper