chap

«chap» in Mova's school dictionary: a man or boy, a fellow — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 3 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a chap, chaps); verb (chap, chaps, chapped, chapping)

meaning for a pupil

1) (UK, informal, a bit old-fashioned) A chap is a man or boy, a fellow. tree →

2) Chaps are leather leg coverings worn by cowboys over their trousers. tree →

3) To chap is for skin or lips to become dry, rough and cracked, usually from cold or wind. tree →

4) (Scotland, Northern Ireland) To chap is to knock on a door. tree →

5) In old books, chap is a short way of writing chapter, such as "chap. vii" for chapter seven. tree →

sense in the lessons

In British stories and older books, «a nice chap», «old chap» are friendly ways to talk about men. In winter health tips: «chapped lips», «lip balm». In westerns, cowboys wear chaps. Phrases: «a decent chap», «old chap», «chapped lips/hands».

examples

• Mr Davies is a friendly chap who runs the corner shop. tree →
• «Well done, old chap!» said Grandpa. tree →
• My lips are chapped from the cold wind. tree →
• Use hand cream so your hands don't chap. tree →
• The cowboy pulled on his leather chaps. tree →
• (Scotland) Chap the door and see if he's in. tree →
• The little chap has saved our lives now.” tree →

note

Plural «chaps». Mostly British; Americans say «guy», Australians «bloke». Double the p: chapped, chapping. «Chap» is not short for «chapter» (that is «chap.» with a full stop in writing).

In the corpora

• The Rat: «Look here, Mole old chap, you seem dead tired.
• Bustle about, old chap!»
• Cold wind and dry heating take water from the skin; licking your lips makes them more chapped, and lip balm helps.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «chap» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.