1. [informal] Metal striker that hangs inside a bell and makes a sound by hitting the side
   "The old church bell's clapper had worn down over centuries of use";
   - tongue
    
2. Someone who applauds
   "The enthusiastic clapper stood up to give the performance a standing ovation";
   - applauder
    
3. [informal] A mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity
   "The lingua, or clapper, is essential for speech and swallowing";
   - tongue, lingua [technical]

Derived forms: clappers

Type of: articulator, extoller, laudator, lauder, organ, striker

Part of: bell, cakehole [Brit, informal], gob [Brit, informal], hole [informal], kisser [informal], maw [informal], mouth, oral cavity, oral fissure, pharynx, throat, trap [informal], yap [N. Amer, informal]

Encyclopedia: Clapper, James