Tap Definition

tăp
tapped, tapping, taps
verb
tapped, tapping, taps
To strike gently with a light blow or blows.
I tapped you on the shoulder to get your attention.
American Heritage
To pierce in order to draw off liquid.
Tap a maple tree.
American Heritage
To strike something lightly, and often repeatedly, with.
Webster's New World
To give a light rap with.
Tap a pencil.
American Heritage
To perform a tap dance.
Webster's New World
Antonyms:
noun
taps
The sound made by such a blow.
American Heritage
A thin layer of leather or a substitute applied to a worn-down shoe heel or toe.
American Heritage
A metal plate attached to the toe or heel of a shoe, as for tap-dancing.
American Heritage
A small, metal plate attached to the heel or toe of a shoe, as for tap-dancing.
Webster's New World
The act or skill of tap-dancing.
Webster's New World
idiom
on tap
  • Ready to be drawn; in a tapped cask:

    beer on tap.

  • Available for immediate use; ready:

    extra personnel on tap.

American Heritage
on tap
  • Ready to be drawn; in a tapped cask:

    beer on tap.

  • Available for immediate use; ready:

    extra personnel on tap.

American Heritage
on tap
  • in a tapped or open cask (of liquor) and ready to be drawn; on draft
  • ready for consideration or action
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Tap

Noun

Singular:
tap
Plural:
taps

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Tap

Origin of Tap

  • From Middle English tappen, teppen, from Old French tapper, taper (“to tap"), of Germanic origin, from Old Frankish *tappōn, *dabbōn (“to strike") or from Middle Low German tappen, tapen ("to tap, rap, strike"); both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *dab- (“to strike"), from Proto-Indo-European *dÊ°AbÊ°- (“to beat, strike, stun, be speechless"). Related to German tappen (“to grope, fumble"), Icelandic tappa, tapsa, tæpta (“to tap"). Related to dab.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English tappe from Old English tæppa tapered peg used as a stopper German Zapfen pine cone, stopper and perhaps also to Sanskrit stabakaḥ bouquet, bunch (perhaps originally referring to a bunch of grass that could be used as a stopper)

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English tappe from Old English tæppa tapered peg used as a stopper German Zapfen pine cone, stopper and perhaps also to Sanskrit stabakaḥ bouquet, bunch (perhaps originally referring to a bunch of grass that could be used as a stopper)

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English tappen from Old French taper of imitative origin

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English tappen from Old French taper of imitative origin

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Old English tæppa, from Proto-Germanic *tappô.

    From Wiktionary

  • Old English tæppian

    From Wiktionary

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