lapping

/ˈlæpɪŋ/
verb
  1. To drink by scooping up liquid with the tongue, as an animal does.
    • The puppy was lapping water from the puddle after the rain.
    • We watched the deer lapping at the stream in the early morning.
    • The cat sat by the bowl, lapping up the milk.
  2. To wash or flow against something with a gentle, repeated sound.
    • She fell asleep to the sound of water lapping on the shore.
    • Rainwater was lapping at the doorstep during the storm.
    • The waves were lapping against the side of the boat.
  3. To overtake and pass a competitor by one full circuit in a race.
    • The champion runner started lapping the slower athletes in the final mile.
    • He was so fast that he ended up lapping several of his opponents.
    • In the last lap, the leading car began lapping the back markers.
  4. To fold or wrap something around another thing, or to overlap.
    • The shingles on the roof are lapping over each other to keep out water.
    • She carefully lapped the bandage around his injured wrist.
    • He lapped the rope around the post to secure the boat.
noun
  1. The act or sound of liquid moving gently against a surface.
    • We could hear the gentle lapping of the water from our tent.
    • The only sound was the soft lapping of the tide on the sand.
    • The lapping of the lake against the dock was very soothing.
  2. A thin layer or covering that overlaps another, or the amount of overlap.
    • He measured the lapping of the tiles to ensure a proper fit.
    • The lapping of the metal sheets kept the roof watertight.
    • The carpenter checked the lapping of the wooden planks.