Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To strike gently with a light blow or blows.
- intransitive verb To give a light rap with.
- intransitive verb To produce with a succession of light blows.
- intransitive verb To select, as for membership in an organization; designate. synonym: appoint.
- intransitive verb To repair (shoe heels or toes) by applying a thin layer of leather or a substitute material.
- intransitive verb To attach metal plates to (shoe toes or heels).
- intransitive verb To deliver a gentle, light blow or blows.
- intransitive verb To walk making light clicks.
- noun A gentle blow.
- noun The sound made by such a blow.
- noun A thin layer of leather or a substitute applied to a worn-down shoe heel or toe.
- noun A metal plate attached to the toe or heel of a shoe, as for tap-dancing.
- noun A valve and spout used to regulate delivery of a fluid at the end of a pipe.
- noun A plug for a bunghole; a spigot.
- noun Liquor drawn from a spigot.
- noun Liquor of a particular brew, cask, or quality.
- noun Medicine The removal of fluid from a body cavity.
- noun A tool for cutting an internal screw thread.
- noun A makeshift terminal in an electric circuit.
- noun A wiretap.
- transitive verb To furnish with a spigot or tap.
- transitive verb To pierce in order to draw off liquid.
- transitive verb To draw (liquid) from a vessel or container.
- transitive verb Medicine To withdraw fluid from (a body cavity).
- transitive verb To make a physical connection with or open outlets from.
- transitive verb To wiretap (a telephone or communications channel).
- transitive verb To establish an electric connection in (a power line), as to divert current secretly.
- transitive verb To establish access to or a connection with.
- transitive verb To take advantage of; make use of.
- transitive verb To cut screw threads in (a collar, socket, or other fitting).
- transitive verb Informal To ask (a person) for money.
- idiom (on tap) Ready to be drawn; in a tapped cask.
- idiom (on tap) Available for immediate use; ready.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Same as
tapadera . - To draw the tap or plug from (a cask) so as to let the liquor flow out; hence, to broach or pierce (a cask); in general, to pierce so as to let out a contained liquid.
- Specifically— To pierce (a cask) for the purpose of testing or using the liquor.
- To make an incision in (a tree or other plant) with a view to take some part of the sap: as, to
tap the trunk of a maple-tree for the sap for making maple sugar. - To cut into, penetrate, or reach for the purpose of drawing something out: as, to
tap telegraph-wires for the purpose of taking off a message. - To cause to run out by broaching a vessel; especially, to draw for the first time, as for examination, or when the time has come for using the contents.
- To act as a drawer or tapster.
- noun A tap-house or tap-room; also, the room in a tavern where liquor is drawn and served to guests.
- noun Same as
tap-cinder .
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The high hat on the drums started pulsing. * tap tap tap tap* Bursting from within the amp came the familiar opening ring of "Listen to Her Heart."
When Heartbreaker Mike Campbell met a young fan, he didn't just string him along 2010
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The high hat on the drums started pulsing. * tap tap tap tap* Bursting from within the amp came the familiar opening ring of "Listen to Her Heart."
When Heartbreaker Mike Campbell met a young fan, he didn't just string him along Griffin Black 2010
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By and by she heard another little _tap, tap, tap_ on the window-pane.
Stories to Tell Children Fifty-Four Stories With Some Suggestions For Telling Sara Cone Bryant
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By and by, as she sat so still, she heard _tap, tap, tap_, and _rustle, whisper, rustle_, up and down the window-pane, and on the door and at the keyhole.
Stories to Tell Children Fifty-Four Stories With Some Suggestions For Telling Sara Cone Bryant
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Here _Margery_ stopped, and ran up to the Door, _Tap, tap, tap_.
Goody Two-Shoes A Facsimile Reproduction of the Edition of 1766 Anonymous
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At the head of each procession walked an Indian beating a drum, _tap, tap, tap_, without a vestige of time.
Anahuac : or, Mexico and the Mexicans, Ancient and Modern Edward Burnett Tylor
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But against the wooden chop boxes, the bags of cornmeal _potio_, the bundles of canvas that made up some of the loads, the long safari sticks went _tap, tap, tap_, in rhythm.
The Leopard Woman Stewart Edward White 1909
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He followed a little farther, and now his tail was heard to '_tap, tap, tap_' the brush as he went through a dry thicket.
Two Little Savages Being the adventures of two boys who lived as Indians and what they learned Ernest Thompson Seton 1903
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_Tap, tap, tap_ -- given apparently with the pencil.
The Shadow World Hamlin Garland 1900
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Ball State University (Gregory) * tap tap tap* Check Check ...
Archinect.com Feed 2009
oroboros commented on the word tap
Pat in reverse.
November 2, 2007
adoarns commented on the word tap
To tap in medical parlance is to access and remove fluid from an internal compartment, usually but not always an abnormal fluid collection.
A thoracentesis or paracentesis would both be examples of taps. A spinal tap is an example which doesn't aim to drain a pathological fluid pocket.
Usage: "Mr Carver's got a pleural effusion on decubes, but it looks too small to tap."
January 26, 2008
thomas_hinkle commented on the word tap
"Tap" has a sexual use among my students, typically with "that" referring to a person, as in "I'd tap that" or "I tapped that". http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=i%27d%20tap%20it
June 27, 2009
john commented on the word tap
“Over the past year and a half, a subculture has evolved, with Christian mixed martial arts clothing brands like Jesus Didn’t Tap (in the sport, “tap” means to give up) and Christian social networking Web sites like Anointedfighter.com. ”
The New York Times, Flock Is Now a Fight Team in Some Ministries , by R.M. Schneiderman, February 2, 2010
February 3, 2010
bilby commented on the word tap
Nigerian English - steal.
October 16, 2011