noun🔥 Gen-Z slang

clapback

a sharp comeback to criticism

What it means

A sharp, witty comeback delivered in response to criticism, an insult, or a troll. A clapback is quick and cutting, designed to shut the other person down rather than start a long argument. Often used as a verb too.

Examples

  • Her clapback to that hater was absolutely brutal.
  • He tried to roast me but my clapback ended him.
  • She clapped back at the troll and the comments went wild.
  • That was the cleanest clapback I've ever seen online.

Where it comes from

Rooted in AAVE, the term spread through celebrity Twitter and entertainment headlines in the mid-2010s describing pointed responses to critics.

Related slang

#ratio#shade#L#cooked

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