lap

LAP/læp/

Plurallaps

Verblaps, lapping, lapped

26 meanings of lap

Practice

1
race circuitnouncountable
One complete circuit around a race track.
She set a personal best on the third lap of the race.
The cyclists completed one lap in under two minutes.
UsageYou run, ride or drive a lap. Laps can measure a lead: win by three laps.
Similarcircuit, loop, round
2
thighs (sitting)nouncountable
The flat upper surface of the thighs of a person who is sitting, or the part of their clothing that covers it.
She shook the crumbs from the lap of her skirt.
The toddler fell asleep in her grandmother's lap halfway through the story.
UsageThings rest on or in your lap: a cat on her lap, hands in his lap.
3
pool lengthnouncountable
A single length of the pool, swum from one end to the other, or less often one length and back again.
She managed forty laps of the pool before work every morning.
He swam an easy lap to cool down after the workout.
UsageYou swim laps or a lap of the pool. When the distance matters, lengths or meters are clearer.
Similarlength
Note
Swimmers do not all agree on how long a lap is. Usually it means one length of the pool, but some count a length and back again, so to swim two laps can mean two lengths or four.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
A swimming lap can mean one or two pool lengths; consequently, two laps can mean two or four lengths. usms-cdn.azureedge.net
4
lick upverbtransitive or intransitive
To take liquid into the mouth with quick movements of the tongue.
The cat paused to lap from the puddle by the door.
Stray dogs lapped at the spilled juice on the sidewalk.
UsageOften lap at or lap up a liquid. Lap up also means accept eagerly: lap up the praise.
Similarlick, slurp, drink
Note
The verb takes an object or stands alone, as when a cat laps milk or dogs lap hastily, and Shakespeare's Tempest makes it an image of easy acceptance: 'They'll take suggestion as a cat laps milk.' Said of people, it implies animal manners.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
The quotation occurs in Shakespeare's The Tempest, spoken by Antonio to Sebastian in Act II, scene i; its context supports the interpretation of ready acceptance. opensourceshakespeare.org
5
wash against shoreverbintransitive
Of water or waves, to move against a shore or other surface, making a splashing noise; to swash.
Gentle waves lap at the shore all through the night.
The tide lapped against the wooden pier.
UsageUsed with at, against or on: waves lap at the shore.
Similarwash, splash, slap, ripple
Note
Water is the usual subject, and the verb pairs with on, at or against: Tennyson's Morte d'Arthur (1842) hears 'the wild water lapping on the crag'. It shares its imitative origin with the tongue-drinking verb, and the two share a sound too, the small repeated slap of liquid, which is why both waves and a thirsty dog can be said to lap.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
Tennyson's Morte d'Arthur first appeared in 1842, in volume II of Poems. archive.org
The quoted words occur in Morte d'Arthur, in Sir Bedivere's answer to King Arthur. en.wikisource.org
The water sense shares the drinking verb's imitative etymology; Wiktionary places both under the same etymology. en.wiktionary.org
6
pass a racerverbtransitive
To overtake a slower competitor by completing one full circuit more than they have.
On a fast circuit, the top drivers can lap the backmarkers twice.
She lapped her nearest rival with ten minutes remaining.
UsageCommon in the passive: slower cars are lapped or get lapped by the leaders.
Note
Its opposite is unlap, for the car that regains the lap it lost. Being lapped means falling a full circuit behind, which ties the word to motor racing and other sports built on the circuit of a track.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Lapping a competitor means overtaking them after gaining a full circuit. en.wiktionary.org
Unlap describes regaining a lost lap by overtaking the leader. en.wiktionary.org
Lapping also occurs in other sports raced over repeated circuits, including athletics. worldathletics.org
7
nurturing placenounfigurativelycountable
A nurturing place where someone or something is reared and cared for.
He grew up in the quiet lap of the countryside, far from the city.
Raised in the lap of a large, loving family, he never felt alone as a child.
UsageMost often in in the lap of luxury, meaning in great comfort and wealth.
Similarbosom, cradle, nest
8
nouncountable or uncountable
An overlapping part, or the amount by which one thing extends over another.
The builder increased the lap between the planks for a tighter seal.
A small lap at the joint left the seam weak.
Similaroverlap
Note
Boat racing shows the measured version of the overlap: 'The second boat got a lap of half its length on the leader.' There the word is a quantity, how far one hull reaches past another, and it takes a verb like get plus a measure. The same counting appears in building, where a wider or smaller lap decides how well a joint holds.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
The boat-racing example is quoted exactly in Wiktionary as an illustration of measurable overlap. en.wiktionary.org
The extent of overlap affects a lap joint's strength. ntrs.nasa.gov

Less common meanings

9
single licknouncountable or uncountable
The action of taking liquid into the mouth with the tongue.
The puppy took one cautious lap of the milk, then backed away from the bowl.
The exhausted dog drank with long, greedy laps until the bucket was nearly empty.
Similarslurp
10
verbtransitive
To lie partly over something, or to place one thing so that it partly covers another; to overlap.
She lapped each plank over the one below to shed water.
Carpenters lap the boards to form a tight, weatherproof joint.
UsageUsually lap one piece over another, as with boards or roof tiles.
Similaroverlap
Note
A builder's and roofer's verb: often someone does the laying, and the object is the piece set over its neighbor. One laps roof tiles so that water can run off, each covering the top of the one below. What the action leaves behind is the overlap itself, which the noun also calls a lap.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
Roof tiles overlap the course below. marley.co.uk
Overlapping roofing materials helps water drain off the roof. basc.pnnl.gov
The noun lap can denote the overlap. en.wiktionary.org
11
verbtransitive
To polish or finish metal, glass, or gemstones with a lap charged with very fine abrasive.
Machinists lap the valve seats to create a perfect seal.
The toolmaker lapped each steel gauge block with diamond paste until it measured exactly right.
Note
A sizing operation as much as a finish: the very fine abrasive brings a surface to smoothness while taking off just enough material to change its dimensions slightly. That is why machinists lap valve seats as well as jewelers lapping stones. The work is often done against the soft-metal polishing wheel that carries the abrasive.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
Lapping removes small amounts of material and can bring dimensions to close tolerances. kemet.co.uk
Fine abrasive can reduce surface roughness. kemet.co.uk
Valve seats are lapped. commons.princeton.edu
Gemstones are worked by lapping with abrasive. gia.edu
Lapping does not always use a soft-metal wheel; mating components, including valves and their seats, can be lapped directly together. en.wikipedia.org
12
nouncountable
The action or sound of a liquid washing gently against a surface, or of an animal taking in liquid with its tongue.
She fell asleep to the steady lap of waves beneath the houseboat.
We could hear the dog's noisy laps from across the kitchen.
UsageOften the lap of water: the lap of the waves.
Similarwash, splash
13
fold oververbtransitive
To fold something, bending and laying it over or onto something else.
To wrap the gift neatly, lap the paper over the ends and crease it firmly before you add the tape.
Before packing the quilt away, she lapped it into a neat square and laid it on the top shelf.
Similarfold, tuck, turn
Oppositeunfold
14
polishing wheelnouncountable
A piece of soft metal such as brass or lead, shaped as a revolving wheel or disk, that holds cutting or polishing powder for working glass, gems, or cutlery.
A brass lap loaded with diamond powder smoothed the blade's edge.
The cutter swapped the lap on his bench for a finer grade.
15
verbtransitive
To wrap or wind something around an object, or to surround and enfold it.
Workers lap the exposed pipe in thick insulating tape.
Each cable is lapped with copper tape to shield it from interference.
UsageOften lap one thing around another, or lap something in or with tape.
Similarwrap, wind, swathe, enfold
Oppositeunwrap, unwind
Note
Isaac Newton uses it in his Opticks of 1704 for winding fine material round an object: '… I lapped several times a slender thred of very black Silk.'
16
verbrare
To rest or lay something, such as one's head, in someone's lap or on a similar soft place.
to lap his head on lady's breast
a. 1839, Winthrop Mackworth Praed, Gog
17
nouncolloquial
Short for laparoscopy: an examination of or operation on the abdomen using a thin camera inserted through a small cut.
18
adjectivecolloquial
Short for laparoscopic: done through small cuts using a laparoscope, a thin viewing instrument.
19
nouncolloquial
Short for laparotomy: a surgical operation that cuts through the wall of the abdomen to reach the organs inside.
20
nounarchaic
The loose, freely hanging part of a coat or garment, such as a skirt or an apron.
21
nounobsolete
An edge, border, or hem, such as the finished border of a piece of cloth.
22
noun
In card games and similar games, the points scored beyond those needed to finish a game, carried over into the score of the next game.
23
nounarchaic
A woman's genitals.
24
noun
In a steam engine's slide valve, how far the valve has to shift from the center of its travel before a port starts to uncover.
25
noun
A broad rolled web of cotton, readied to be fed into a carding machine.
26
nounobsolete
Strong drink, such as beer or spirits.

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 2, 7

Old English læppa, a flap or skirt of a garment, became Middle English lappe. Behind it is Proto-Germanic *lappô ("cloth, rag"), whose source is uncertain but may be Proto-Indo-European *leb- ("to hang loosely"). Dutch lap and German Lappen ("cloth") are related.

Meanings 1, 3, 6, 8, 10–15

From Middle English lappen ("to fold, wrap"), from earlier wlappen, from Old English *wlappan, from Proto-Germanic *wlapp-/*wrapp- ("to wrap, fold, roll up"), from Proto-Indo-European *werb- ("to bend, turn"). It is a doublet of wrap and related to envelop and develop. The sense of getting a lap ahead on a track (1847) came from the notion of "overlapping," and the noun meaning "a turn around a track" (1861) grew from that.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 7 facts

Lap derives from Middle English lappen, meaning to fold or wrap. en.wiktionary.org
Middle English lappen derives from earlier wlappen and reconstructed Old English *wlappan. en.wiktionary.org
The proposed Proto-Germanic roots are *wlapp-/*wrapp-, meaning to wrap, fold or roll up. en.wiktionary.org
The proposed ultimate root is Proto-Indo-European *werb-, meaning to bend or turn. en.wiktionary.org
Lap is a doublet of wrap and is related to envelop and develop. en.wiktionary.org
The racing terminology developed from overlapping. en.wiktionary.org
The noun meaning a circuit of a track is recorded from 1861. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 4–5, 9

Old English lapian became Middle English lappen. It traces to Proto-Germanic *lapōną ("to lick, lap") and further to Proto-Indo-European *leh₂b-, an imitative root meaning "to lick" or "to lap." Old High German laffen ("to lick") and Latin lambere ("lick") are related.