tap

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   A conical peg or pin used to close and open the hole or vent in a container.

2. 2

   An object with a tapering conical form like a tap (etymology 1, noun sense 1)

   An object with a tapering conical form like a tap (etymology 1, noun sense 1); specifically, ellipsis of taproot (“long, tapering root of a plant”).

3. 3

   A hollow device used to control the flow of a fluid, such as an alcoholic beverage from a…

   A hollow device used to control the flow of a fluid, such as an alcoholic beverage from a cask, or a gas or liquid in a pipe.

   • We don’t have bottled water; you’ll have to get it from the tap.
   • Is the tap water here safe to drink?
   • Taps, also called spouts or spiles, are valveless pipes inserted into drilled holes in maple trees to collect their sap as part of the process of making maple syrup
4. ›+ 46 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      Liquor drawn through a tap (etymology 1, noun sense 2.2)

      Liquor drawn through a tap (etymology 1, noun sense 2.2); hence, a certain kind or quality of liquor; also (figurative, informal), a certain kind or quality of any thing.

      • a liquor of the same tap
      • Those Norwegians and those Laps Have extraordinary taps: Those Laps especially have strange fancies: To see them drink, I verily think Would make me lose my senses.
   2. 5

      A device used to listen in secretly on telephone calls or other communications.

   3. 6

      A secret interception of telephone calls or other communications using such a device

      A secret interception of telephone calls or other communications using such a device; also, a recording of such a communication.

      • telephone tap
   4. 7

      A situation where a borrowing government authority issues bonds over a period of time,…

      A situation where a borrowing government authority issues bonds over a period of time, usually at a fixed price, with volumes sold on a particular day dependent on market conditions.

      • bond tap    tap issue
   5. 8

      A cylindrical tool used to cut an internal screw thread in a hole, with cutting edges…

      A cylindrical tool used to cut an internal screw thread in a hole, with cutting edges around the lower end and an upper end to which a handle is fitted to turn the tool.

      • We drilled a hole and then cut the threads with the proper tap to match the valve’s thread.
   6. 9

      Ellipsis of taphouse or taproom (“place where alcoholic beverages are served on tap”).

      • Guard emerges from the tap, where he prefers breakfasting, […]
      • For the rest, both the tap and parlor of the Six Jolly Fellowship-Porters gave upon the river, and had red curtains matching the noses of the regular customers, and were provided with comfortable fireside tin utensils, […]
   7. 10

      A connection made to an electrical or fluid conductor without breaking it

      A connection made to an electrical or fluid conductor without breaking it; a tapping.

      • The system was barely keeping pressure due to all of the ill-advised taps along its length.
   8. 11

      To furnish (a container, etc.) with a tap (noun etymology 1, noun sense 2.2) so that…

      To furnish (a container, etc.) with a tap (noun etymology 1, noun sense 2.2) so that liquid can be drawn.

      • There's a very pretty brew in tap at The Pure Drop—though, to be sure, not so good as at Rolliver's.
      • Vladimir Putin, Russian prime minister, on Tuesday opened the tap to Nord Stream at a compressor station near Vyborg, north-west Russia.
      • The event is called "Men & Vulnerability," and when I walk in, I'm surprised to find about 50 people milling about, drinking free wine and pouring themselves beers from a tap in the communal kitchen.
   9. 12

      To draw off (a liquid) from a container or other source

      To draw off (a liquid) from a container or other source; also, to draw off a liquid from (a container or other source).

      • He tapped the ten-year-old whiskey from its barrel.
      • If we tap the maple trees, we can get maple syrup.
      • Theſe Buſſards thinke knowledge a burthen, tapping it before they haue halfe tunde it, venting it before they haue filled it, […]
   10. 13

       To break into or open up (a thing) so as to obtain something

       To break into or open up (a thing) so as to obtain something; to exploit, to penetrate; tap into.

       • Businesses are trying to tap the youth market.
       • He tried to tap cable television without a subscription.
       • Ye ſee maſters yͭ one end tapt of this my ſhort deuiſe / Now muſt we broche thoter to, before the ſmoke ariſe / And by the time they haue a while run.
   11. 14

       To deplete (something)

       To deplete (something); to tap out.

   12. 15

       To ask or beg for (something) to be given for free

       To ask or beg for (something) to be given for free; to cadge, to scrounge; also, to ask or beg (someone) to give something for free.

       • I tried to tap a cigarette off him, but he wouldn’t give me one.
       • Thanks, old man, Hynes said. I'll tap him too. […] Three bob I lent him in Meagher's. Three weeks. Third hint.
   13. 16

       To connect a listening and/or recording device to (a communication cable or device) in…

       To connect a listening and/or recording device to (a communication cable or device) in order to listen in secretly on telephone calls or other communications; also, to secretly listen in on and/or record (a telephone call or other communication).

       • They can’t tap the phone without a warrant.
       • mitchener. Why didn't you telephone? / balsquith. They tap the telephone. Every switchboard in London is in their hands, or in those of their young men.
       • On 3 May the Government decided to take over the Telephone Exchange, which had been operated since the beginning of the war mainly by C.N.T. workers; it was alleged that it was badly run and that official calls were being tapped.
   14. 17

       To turn over (a playing card or playing piece) to remind players that it has already been…

       To turn over (a playing card or playing piece) to remind players that it has already been used in that round.

   15. 18

       To force (an opponent) to place all their poker chips in the pot (that is, to go all in)…

       To force (an opponent) to place all their poker chips in the pot (that is, to go all in) by wagering all of one's own chips.

       • I think there's an expression in poker. I'll tap you, Mr. Maverick.
   16. 19

       To remove a taproot from (a plant).

   17. 20

       To cut an internal screw thread in (a hole)

       To cut an internal screw thread in (a hole); also, to cut (an internal screw thread) in a hole, or to create an internally threaded hole in (something).

       • Tap an M3 thread all the way through the hole.
   18. 21

       To cut an external screw thread into (a bolt or rod) to create a screw.

   19. 22

       To put (a screw or other object) in or through another thing.

   20. 23

       To act as a tapster

       To act as a tapster; to draw an alcoholic beverage from a container.

       • Ile entertaine Bardolfe. He ſhall tap, he ſhall dravv.
       • […] I heere doe damne thy licence, / Forbidding thee euer to tap, or dravv.
   21. 24

       To spend money, etc., freely.

   22. 25

       To strike (someone or something), chiefly lightly with a clear sound, but sometimes hard.

       • She tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.
   23. 26

       To (lightly) touch (a finger, foot, or other body part) on a surface, often repeatedly.

       • You can pay by tapping your card.
       • He was so nervous he began to tap his fingers on the table.
       • The bystanders began now to loook at each other, nod, wink significantly, and tap their fingers against their foreheads.
   24. 27

       To force (an opponent) to submit, chiefly by indicating their intention to do so by…

       To force (an opponent) to submit, chiefly by indicating their intention to do so by striking a hand on the ground several times; to tap out.

       • Hard to believe Kimo [Leopoldo] used a triangle choke to tap [Kazushi] Sak[uraba], but 4 years can make a difference.
       • Just started bjj [Brazilian jiu-jitsu] couple of months ago and i finally tapped someone!!! WOOOHOO! The guy i tapped has been traiing a few more months than me, outweighs me by at least 30 pounds, and is in great shape from the army.
       • [Genki] Sudo weighed 1/4 of what Butterbean [i.e., Eric Esch] weighs and he still tapped Butterbean.
   25. 28

       To invoke a function on an electronic device such as a mobile phone by touching (a…

       To invoke a function on an electronic device such as a mobile phone by touching (a button, icon, or specific location on its touch screen).

       • Tap the Save Image button to save the picture in your iPod touch or iPhone photo library (in the Saved Images album) or tap Cancel to cancel.
   26. 29

       To repair (an item of footwear) by putting on a new heel or sole, or a piece of material…

       To repair (an item of footwear) by putting on a new heel or sole, or a piece of material on to the heel or sole.

       • to tap shoes
   27. 30

       To choose or designate (someone) for a duty, an honour, membership of an organization, or…

       To choose or designate (someone) for a duty, an honour, membership of an organization, or a position.

       • He was tapped by the president to act as a special counsel.
       • Hardly a radical, she was more the type that got tapped for a ­student-faculty committee.
   28. 31

       Often followed by at or on

       Often followed by at or on: to strike lightly with a clear sound; also, to make a sharp noise through this action.

       • The tree was swaying in the breeze and tapping on the window pane.
       • She tapped gently at the door, and vvas anſvvered by Madame, vvho vvas alarmed at being avvakened at ſo unuſual an hour, and believed that ſome danger threatened her huſband.
       • And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door, That I scarce was sure I heard you […]
   29. 32

       To walk by striking the ground lightly with a clear sound.

       • Our England for ever! Ten thouſand French, my brave Lad! I am going to tap avvay directly.
   30. 33

       Of a bell, a drum, etc.

       Of a bell, a drum, etc.: to make a sharp noise, often as a signal.

   31. 34

       To submit to an opponent, chiefly by indicating an intention to do so by striking a hand…

       To submit to an opponent, chiefly by indicating an intention to do so by striking a hand on the ground several times; to tap out.

   32. 35

       Of a hare or rabbit

       Of a hare or rabbit: to strike the ground repeatedly with its feet during the rutting season.

       • [A] Bore ſcreameth: a Hare & a Cony beateth or tappeth: a Fox barketh: […] when they ſeeke or hunt after their mates.
   33. 36

       A light blow or strike with a clear sound

       A light blow or strike with a clear sound; a gentle rap; a pat; also, the sound made by such a blow or strike.

       • When Steve felt a tap on his shoulder, he turned around.
       • And much greater is the wrong that rewardeth euill for good, than that which requireth tip for tap: […]
       • [T]his is the right fencing grace, my Lord, tap for tap, and ſo part faire.
   34. 37

       The smallest amount of work

       The smallest amount of work; a stroke of work.

       • That put an end to work. They've hardly done a tap since. By now we should have half the season's copra stacked and ready for shipping. But you saw the plantation. Nothing done at all.
       • Bone idle, Charlie was, he had never done a tap in the house, always 'busy' whenever she asked him to do anything.
   35. 38

       One of the metal pieces attached to the sole of a tap dancer's shoe at the toe and heel…

       One of the metal pieces attached to the sole of a tap dancer's shoe at the toe and heel to cause a tapping sound.

   36. 39

       A shot fired from a firearm.

   37. 40

       An act of touching a button, icon, or specific location on the touch screen of an…

       An act of touching a button, icon, or specific location on the touch screen of an electronic device such as a mobile phone to invoke a function.

   38. 41

       A single muscle contraction in vocal organs causing a consonant sound

       A single muscle contraction in vocal organs causing a consonant sound; also, the sound so made.

   39. 42

       A piece of leather or other material fastened upon the bottom of an item of footwear when…

       A piece of leather or other material fastened upon the bottom of an item of footwear when repairing the heel or sole; also (England, dialectal) the sole of an item of footwear.

       • She had a good figure, was twenty-one, five-feet-five, hair probably brown (dyed blond), brown cloth coat, rabbit-skin collar, cotton print dress, brown calf shoes (heel taps a little run over), scuff on the right toe.
   40. 43

       Ellipsis of tap dance.

       • As successful commercially as it was critically, Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk established Savion Glover as the new tap superstar.
       • I had one advantage: I can keep time pretty well, especially to jazz, which effectively is all tap is. I can beat out a rhythm to any tune.
   41. 44

       A malarial fever.

       • According to the Yunani hakims dengue is a "tap safrow"—a fever due to excess of bile, and it is wonderful the amount of dark colored bile that passes away after a purgative, especially if that is not administered until the third day.
       • The country, my entertainer informed me, was considered perfectly safe, unless I feared the tap, the bad kind of fever which infests all the country at the base of the hills.
   42. 45

       Initialism of talk aloud protocol.

   43. 46

       Initialism of think aloud protocol.

   44. 47

       Initialism of total audience package

       Initialism of total audience package: an offering that includes ads broadcast during every part of the schedule.

   45. 48

       The station code of Tai Po Market in Hong Kong.

   46. 49

       Initialism of The Ada Project.

The neighborhood

• synonymclap
• synonymknock
• synonympat
• synonymping
• synonymplip
• synonymplonk
• synonymplop
• synonymrap
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• synonymsmack
• synonymspank
• antonymhumming
• neighbortapster
• neighborbeep
• neighborsnap
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