lap (n.)

  1. the upper side of the thighs of a seated person; he picked up the little girl and plopped her down in his lap'

  2. an area of control or responsibility; the job fell right in my lap'

  3. the part of a piece of clothing that covers the thighs; his lap was covered with food stains

    [ Syn: lap covering ]

  4. a flap that lies over another part; the lap of the shingles should be at least ten inches

    [ Syn: overlap ]

  5. movement once around a course; he drove an extra lap just for insurance

    [ Syn: circle , circuit ]

  6. touching with the tongue; the dogs laps were warm and wet

    [ Syn: lick ]

    lap (v.)

  1. lie partly over or alongside of something or of one another

  2. pass the tongue over; the dog licked her hand

    [ Syn: lick ]

  3. move with or cause to move with a whistling or hissing sound; The bubbles swoshed around in the glass; The curtain swooshed open

    [ Syn: swish , swosh , swoosh ]

  4. take up with the tongue; The cat lapped up the milk; the cub licked the milk from its mothers breast

    [ Syn: lap up , lick ]

  5. wash or flow against; the waves laved the shore

    [ Syn: lave , wash ]

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2011 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.