hand clapping vs approval

hand clapping and approval both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
hand clapping	Yes	No	No	No
approval	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, approval is a hypernym of hand clapping; that is, approval is a word with a broader meaning than hand clapping:

Other hypernyms of hand clapping include commendation.

hand clapping (noun)	approval (noun)
a demonstration of approval by clapping the hands together	the formal act of approving
	a message expressing a favorable opinion
	a feeling of liking something or someone good
	acceptance as satisfactory