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PlainSpell

yap

/jæp/noun, verb

yap is spelled Y-A-P: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,168th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Yap, the name). As a noun, yap means “The high-pitched bark of a small dog, or similar” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of yap is yaps.

How many letters and syllables are in yap?

Letters3: Y-A-P
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writingabout once in every 1 million words; the 31,168th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is yap?

Yap appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,168th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Yap, the name.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce yap?

  • /jæp/

Yap has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-yap.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with yap?

No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as yap.

Spelled with the same letters in another order: pay, pya.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of yap

  • yaps plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • yapping participle, present
  • yapped participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does yap mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    The high-pitched bark of a small dog, or similar.

  2. 2

    slangCasual talk; chatter.

  3. 3

    derogatoryslangThe mouth, which produces speech.

    Shut your yap!

  4. 4

    A badly behaved person, especially a child.

  5. 5

    datedslangA fool.

verb

  1. 1

    Of a small dog, to bark.

  2. 2

    slangTo talk, especially excessively; to chatter.

    You’re always yapping, I wish you’d shut up.

  3. 3

    slangTo rob or steal from (someone).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Yap in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchjapper (high-pitched bark), jacasser (slang: to talk, especially excessively)
GermanJapsen, Kläffen, Gekläffe (high-pitched bark), kläffen (of a small dog, to bark)
Spanishladrido, gañido, trino, quejido (high-pitched bark), cotorrear (slang: to talk, especially excessively), gañir (of a small dog, to bark)
Portuguesetagarelar, parolar, palrar (slang: to talk, especially excessively)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does yap come from?

Probably of imitative origin. Alternatively, from dialectal yap, yaup, yalp (“to yap, yelp”). More at yelp.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after yap