Two palms coming together, the clapping-hands emoji is applause — praise, congratulations, or a job well done. It's also famous for the clap-between-every-word trick, spacing out each word of a sentence 👏 for 👏 maximum 👏 emphasis.
What 👏 means
Two palms coming together in a clap, along with animated clicking marks around the palms to give the effect of a clap. This emoji signifies happy emotions.
The 👏 Clapping Hands suggests applause in situations such as cheer, happiness, encouragement, and appreciation. It can be used in playful sarcastic connotations as well. This emoji is available in the designated skin tones almost across all platforms.
How and when to use it
- Send 👏 emoji to posts that are vibrant and inspirational on social media.
- If someone told you about some achievement(s) of theirs, use 👏 as a way of showing cheer.
- 👏 can also be used in sarcastic contexts too. For example - use 👏 emoji as a reaction to something incredibly stupid and face palm worthy that someone did or said.
- Use 👏 emoji even while sending something inspiring and motivational.
- To send across a virtual round of applause, send many 👏 emojis.
- 👏 also conveys excitement. If someone told you about something exciting, send along 👏 emoji.
Other Names
- 👏 Cheer
- 👏 Claps
- 👏 Applause
- 👏 Hurray
- 👏 Awesome
- 👏 Amazing
- 👏 Round of Applause
- 👏 Excitement
- 👏 Happiness
- 👏 Golf Club
- 👏 Clapping
- 👏 Clap
- 👏 Clapping Hands Sign
👏 in real conversations
What does 👏 mean in texting?
Applause — praise, congratulations, or a genuine "well done." Solo, it's a compliment; repeated between words, it usually means something more pointed is going on.
Why do people put 👏 between 👏 every 👏 word?
It's "clap talking" — a real gesture (rooted in Black vernacular speech patterns) of clapping on each word for emphasis, ported straight into text. It makes a point land harder, often with a sassy or exasperated edge: "we 👏 do 👏 not 👏 do 👏 that."
Is 👏 sarcastic?
Often, yes — a slow clap in emoji form. "👏 great 👏 job 👏" between words is rarely sincere praise; it's pointed, condescending emphasis aimed at someone who messed up.
The lowdown
- Category
- People & Body › hands
- Codepoints
U+1F44F- Emoji version
- Emoji 0.6
- Shortcodes
:clap:- Keywords
- applause, approval, awesome, clap, congrats, congratulations, excited, good, great, hand, homie, job, nice, prayed, well, yay
How it looks across platforms
Seeing a blank box instead of the emoji somewhere? Here's why that happens.
Skin tone variations
Pairs well with
Tap any combo to copy the whole thing.
⚡ Quick round
Which joined the keyboard first — 👏 Clapping Hands or Splatter?
Runs with a crowd
👏 keeps company in hand emojis — tap-to-copy sets for when one emoji isn't enough.