yap

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to give a quick, sharp, high-pitched bark or cry

   The terrier began to yap whenever anyone approached the gate.

2. 2
   verb

   to talk continuously in a loud, shrill, or irritating way

   They yapped about office gossip throughout the journey.

3. 3
   noun

   a quick sharp bark, or a burst of shrill insistent talk

   A sudden yap from the yard made everyone turn toward the gate.

4. 4
   noun

   the mouth, in informal or slang use

   He opened his yap before he had considered the consequences.

An imitative English formation, recorded as a verb in the late sixteenth century, echoing a short sharp bark. The senses "talk noisily" and, later, the slang noun "mouth" developed from the same association with insistent sound.

Topics