How to Use slap in a Sentence

slap

1 of 2 verb
  • She slapped him across the face.
  • Gentle waves slapped the side of the raft.
  • Waves were slapping against the side of the boat.
  • He called the dog by slapping his hand against his thigh.
  • He slapped me on the back and said “Good job!”.
  • My feet slap against a wet stone floor.
    — Brienne Walsh, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
  • Ma slapped me and was right to do so.
    — Anahid Nersessian, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
  • The tarp slaps the frame of the truck’s roof.
    — Literary Hub, 7 Nov. 2025
  • The pair slapped hands on their way back to the dugout.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2026
  • He was kept for days, where he was punched, slapped and kicked.
    — Omar Jimenez, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2025
  • Let’s bust out the red ink and slap some grades on this deal.
    — Zach Harper, New York Times, 25 June 2026
  • Let’s bust out the red ink and slap some grades on this deal.
    — Zach Harper, New York Times, 23 June 2026
  • Let’s bust out the red ink and slap some grades on this trade.
    — Zach Harper, New York Times, 1 July 2026
  • Let’s bust out the red ink and slap some grades on this trade.
    — Zach Harper, New York Times, 30 June 2026
  • There is getting slapped in the face.
    — Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 3 Apr. 2026
  • Martin felt like he’d been slapped.
    — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 15 Jan. 2026
  • Branch slapped him on the side of the helmet.
    — Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 13 Oct. 2025
  • One of the guards slapped his hand away, his father said.
    — Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Willits then slapped a single to right field to drive in a run.
    — Tony Catalina, Austin American Statesman, 13 Mar. 2026
  • Will Smith walked onto the stage and slapped him.
    — Abigail Wise, Outside, 11 Dec. 2025
  • Rhodes then slapped Zayn across the face.
    — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 14 June 2026
  • Instead, Ted slaps him in the face, twice.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2025
  • The Thunder slapped and grabbed.
    — Dan Woike, New York Times, 23 May 2026
  • At least until the lake came back to more or less slap him in the face.
    — Samantha Highfill, Entertainment Weekly, 10 June 2026
  • This isn’t about slapping a name on a package.
    — Jeff Fromm, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
  • The therapist looks as if she’s just been slapped.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2025
  • The other day, a girl slapped him in the face at a nightclub.
    — Will Gottsegen, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2026
  • His hands move up to his stomach and his chest and begin to slap.
    — Matthew Shen Goodman, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Anderson slaps his hit down the right field line, just fair.
    — Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2026
  • Players circled the court and slapped five with fans.
    — Doug Haller, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2026

slap

2 of 2 noun
  • My heart is racing from the slap of cold.
    — Literary Hub, 10 Oct. 2025
  • Pannek didn’t hit the puck with a full slap shot.
    — Staff Report, Twin Cities, 9 May 2026
  • Its shock to the body is matched with a spiteful slap to the eardrum.
    — Philip Elliott, Time, 21 Nov. 2022
  • A couple of good back slaps and thumps from the adoring crowd.
    — Nick Miller, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
  • That’s four slaps right in the middle of the church parking lot.
    — Oliver Munday, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2023
  • In this world, items are paid for by receiving slaps to the face.
    — Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2026
  • And that's when the fish-slap moment happens.
    — Tiffany Kelly, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Apr. 2026
  • David responds to her with a vicious slap that knocks her out of her chair.
    — Randall Colburn, EW.com, 6 Mar. 2023
  • Those attempts didn’t get a slap from Avast, but two very old videos did.
    — Neil J. Rubenking, PC Magazine, 24 June 2026
  • Moore glided down from the right point and into a slap shot for his third goal of the year.
    — Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 26 Feb. 2026
  • Morgan responded with a slap and brush off of the voodoo.
    — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 28 June 2026
  • Karl turned on the headlights and got the windshield wipers going at a mad slap.
    — Ann Patchett, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Toothpaste is banned, and slaps serve as currency.
    — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 30 Nov. 2025
  • Not getting rewarded for that was a real slap in the face for me.
    — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 12 Apr. 2023
  • That’s how Larry Graham came up with slap bass.
    — Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2026
  • After faking a slap shot, Kucherov had sent a pass down to Guentzel.
    — Fluto Shinzawa, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2026
  • On the road, Rock has often worked in jokes and reflections on the slap.
    — Jake Coyle, ajc, 5 Mar. 2023
  • Butner got a wrist slap sentence of three months, and will probably be out any day now.
    — Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Charlie felt the hot slap of the Blight’s anger bleeding through their tether.
    — Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Trading Mantha, for instance, would have been a slap in their faces.
    — Josh Yohe, New York Times, 16 May 2026
  • Opta project them to finish on 53 points, slap-bang in mid-table.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Tavares dug the puck from the boards to Robertson, who beat Talbot with a slap shot.
    — CBS News, 29 Dec. 2025
  • Babies are handed six-shooters before the butt slap.
    — Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 June 2026
  • Other effects include the whine of a mouth organ and slaps of piano and harp strings.
    — Scott Cantrell, Dallas News, 22 June 2023
  • Evander was rushing to set up a free kick for the Timbers when the slap occurred.
    — oregonlive, 29 June 2023
  • Considering his passion for the game, this almost comes off as a slap.
    — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2023
  • As Saints retorted, Williams hit him with a backhand slap.
    — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 30 May 2026
  • Such behavior effectively begs for no tip or even a slap.
    — Boris Kontsevoi, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Moxley didn’t need a pep talk, just some stiff slaps from Marina Shafir.
    — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026
  • But the man who delivered the slap has not been charged with any crime and is named in court documents as a victim.
    — Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer, 17 Aug. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slap.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: