tap

A late-14th-century illustration of barrels containing alcoholic beverages stopped with taps (etymology 1, sense 1), and a cellarer passing a glass of a drink to a person in a room above.

A water tap (etymology 1, sense 2.2) installed at a bathroom sink.

Taps (etymology 1, sense 2.2) used to dispense beer in a bar in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

A tap (etymology 1, sense 2.6) used to cut an internal screw thread in a hole. A tap wrench to turn the tool has been fitted to one end.

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /tæp/,

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /tɐːp/
• Rhymes: -æp

The noun is derived from Middle English tappe (“hollow device for controlling the flow of liquid from a hole, cock, faucet, spigot; hole through which the liquid flows; the liquid which thus flows”),^[1] from Old English tæppa, from Proto-West Germanic *tappō, from Proto-Germanic *tappô (“a plug, tap; peg; tapering stick”), from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂p- (“to lose; to sacrifice”).^[2]

The verb is derived from Middle English tappen (“to obtain (liquid, chiefly liquor) from a tap; to obtain and sell (liquor)”),^[3] from Old English tæppian (“to provide (a container) with a stopper; to obtain (liquid) from a tap”), and then either:

• from Old English tæppa^[4] (see above) + -ian (suffix forming verbs); or
• from Proto-Germanic *tappōną, from *tappô (noun) (see above).

Verb sense 1.3.5 (“to turn over (a playing card or playing piece) to remind players that it has already been used in that round”) alludes to the abilities or resources of the card or piece having been drawn on to the point of temporary exhaustion: see verb sense 1.3.2.

tap (plural taps)

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

   Synonyms: spigot, spile

3. (by extension)
   1. An object with a tapering conical form like a tap (sense 1); specifically, short for taproot (“long, tapering root of a plant”).
   3. 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.

      Synonyms: cock, faucet, handle, spigot, spout, stopcock

      We don’t have bottled water; you’ll have to get it from the tap.

      Is the tap water here safe to drink?

      • 1891, Thomas Hardy, chapter I, in Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented , volume I, London: James R Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., , →OCLC, phase the first (The Maiden), page 8:

        There's a very pretty brew in tap at The Pure Drop—though, to be sure, not so good as at Rolliver's.

      • 2011 September 6, Isabel Gorst, “Russia opens $10bn Nord Stream tap”, in Financial Times‎, London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 March 2022:

        Vladimir Putin, Russian prime minister, on Tuesday opened the tap to Nord Stream at a compressor station near Vyborg, north-west Russia.

      • 2019 October 12, James D. Walsh, “I Lived Adam Neumann’s Perfect Life for a Day. It was Terrible.”, in Intelligencer‎, New York, N.Y.: New York Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-05-28:

        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.

      • 2023 January 26, Jack Vening, “The tap you drink from in your house says a lot about you”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-03-04:

        The tap you drink from says a lot about you. There's a hierarchy to the taps in your house, and even if you don't observe it consciously you probably abide by it in some way. You may argue that the water all comes from the same source, but its taste is inarguably defined by the vibe of its tap.

      1. (medicine, informal) A procedure that removes fluid from a body cavity; paracentesis.

         abdominal tap    pleural tap    spinal tap

   4. Liquor drawn through a tap (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

      • 1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Two. The First of the Three Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, London: Chapman & Hall, , →OCLC, page 55:

        Here he produced a decanter of curiously light wine, and a block of curiously heavy cake, and administered instalments of those dainties to the young people: at the same time, sending out a meagre servant to offer a glass of "something" to the postboy, who answered that he thanked the gentleman, but if it was the same tap as he had tasted before, he had rather not.

      • 1825, Francesco Redi, translated by Leigh Hunt, Bacchus in Tuscany, a Dithyrambic Poem, , London: for John and H L Hunt, , →OCLC, page 14:

        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.

      • 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, “James Crawley’s Pipe Is Put Out”, in Vanity Fair , London: Bradbury and Evans , published 1848, →OCLC, page 305:

        I wish my aunt would send down some of this to the governor; it's a precious good tap.

   5. (communication, chiefly law enforcement)
      1. A device used to listen in secretly on telephone calls or other communications.
      2. A secret interception of telephone calls or other communications using such a device; also, a recording of such a communication.

         telephone tap

         • 2020 May 14, Fred Kaplan, “‘Obamagate’ wasn’t even a Scandal the First Time”, in Slate‎, New York, N.Y.: The Slate Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-05-30:

           It is true—and undisputed—that, in the weeks between the 2016 election and Trump's inauguration, several top Obama administration officials asked the National Security Agency to reveal the identity of an American citizen overheard on phone taps speaking with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak—a request known as "unmasking."

   6. (finance) 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

   8. (mechanics) 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.

      • 1678 January 11 – February 11 (Gregorian calendar), Joseph Moxon, “Numb II. Applied to the Making of Hinges, Locks, Keys, Screws and Nuts Small and Great.”, in Mechanick Exercises, or The Doctrine of Handy-Works, , volume I, London: Joseph Moxon, published 1683, →OCLC, page 31:

        To fit the Pin therefore to a true ſize, I in my Practiſe uſe to try into vvhat Hole of the Screvv Plate, the Tap or place of the Tap, (if it be a tapering Tap,) I make the Nut vvith vvill juſt ſlide through; […] But if the Screvv-Tap have no Handle, then it hath its upper end Filed to a long ſquare, to fit into an hollovv ſquare, made near the Handle of the Screvv-Plate: Put that long ſquare hole over the long ſquare on the top of the Tap, and then by turning about the Screvv-Plate, you vvill alſo turn about the Tap in the Hole, and make Grooves and Threds in the Nut.

   9. (British) Short for taphouse or taproom (“place where alcoholic beverages are served on tap”).

      Synonyms: bar, barroom

      • 1771, [Tobias Smollett], “To Sir Watkin Phillips, Bart. of Jesus College, Oxon.”, in The Expedition of Humphry Clinker , volume II, London: W. Johnston, ; and B. Collins, , →OCLC, pages 72–73:

        [H]ere has been nothing but canting and praying ſince the fellovv entered the place.—Rabbit him! the tap vvill be ruined—vve han't ſold a caſk of beer, nor a dozen of vvine, ſince he paid his garniſh—the gentlemen get drunk vvith nothing but your damned religion.— […]

      • 1857, [Thomas Hughes], chapter IV, in Tom Brown’s School Days. , Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC, part I, page 87:

        Guard emerges from the tap, where he prefers breakfasting, […]

      • 1864 May – 1865 November, Charles Dickens, “Cut Adrift”, in Our Mutual Friend. , volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, , published 1865, →OCLC, book the first (The Cup and the Lip), page 47:

        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, […]

   10. (British, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering) 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.

• tapster

tap (third-person singular simple present taps, present participle tapping, simple past and past participle tapped)

1. (transitive)
   1. To furnish (a container, etc.) with a tap (noun sense 2.2) so that liquid can be drawn.
   2. 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.

      • 1589, T[homas] Nashe, The Anatomie of Absurditie: , London: I Charlewood for Thomas Hacket, , →OCLC, signature , verso:

        Theſe Buſſards thinke knowledge a burthen, tapping it before they haue halfe tunde it, venting it before they haue filled it, […]

      • 1832, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter XI, in Eugene Aram. A Tale. , volume II, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, , →OCLC, book III, page 93:

        Come up, my good fellows, come to the Spotted Dog; I will tap a barrel on purpose for you; […]

      • 1841 February–November, Charles Dickens, “Barnaby Rudge. Chapter 51.”, in Master Humphrey’s Clock, volume III, London: Chapman & Hall, , →OCLC, page 231:

        Perhaps, sir, he kicked a county member, perhaps sir he tapped a lord—you may stare, sir, I repeat it—blood flowed from noses, and perhaps he tapped a lord. Who knows?

        Slang for hitting someone on the nose and drawing blood.

      • 1844, J Fisher Murray, “The Physiology of London Life. Chapter V. Little Bell Alley.”, in Bentley’s Miscellany, volume XV, London: Richard Bentley, , →OCLC, page 148:

        Behold, unhappy tippler, this curious machine; […] reflect, while it is yet time, what infinite torture will this instrument in the surgeon's hand inflict upon thee, and that thou, who tappest so many barrels, shall at last be thyself a tapped barrel; […]

      • 2013 April 13, “Caught sticky-handed”, in The Economist‎, London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-07-27:

        Landowners and forest rangers in Maine are facing a surprising problem: thieves have been illegally tapping maple trees and stealing the gooey sap to make maple syrup.

      1. (medicine, informal) To drain off fluid from (a person or a body cavity) by paracentesis.
         • 1655, Lazarus Riverius [i.e., Lazare Rivière], “Of the Dropsie in the Breast”, in Nicholas Culpeper, Abdiah Cole, and William Rowland, transl., The Practice of Physick, , London: Peter Cole, , →OCLC, 7th book (Of the Diseases of the Breast), section III (Of Pestilential Feavers), pages 163–164:

           It is a hard thing to empty the vvater contained in the breaſt, becauſe the vvaies are not open by vvhich it ſhould be brought forth. Therefore Hippocrates doth adviſe to open the ſide, vvhich becauſe vve never ſee practiſed, and never read in any Author that it vvas done vvith good ſucceſs, vve cannot abſolutely approve; and vve may ſpeak of it as vve have of the Opening or Tapping for the Dropſie, in its proper Chapter.

           A noun use.

         • 1709 September 12 (Gregorian calendar), Isaac Bickerstaff [et al., pseudonyms; Richard Steele], “Thursday, September 1, 1709”, in The Tatler, number 62; republished in [Richard Steele], editor, The Tatler, , London stereotype edition, volume I, London: I. Walker and Co.;  , 1822, →OCLC, page 372:

           […] I have, ever since my cure, been very thirsty and dropsical; therefore, I presume, it would be much better to tap me, and drink me off, than eat me at once, and have no man in the ship fit to be drunk.

           The spelling has been modernized.

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

         Businesses are trying to tap the youth market.

         He tried to tap cable television without a subscription.

         • c. 1553 (date written), “S.” [pseudonym; attributed to William Stevenson], Gammer Gurtons Nedle: , London: Thomas Colwell, published 1575, →OCLC; reprinted as John S. Farmer, editor, Gammer Gurton’s Needle  (The Tudor Facsimile Texts), John S. Farmer], 1910, →OCLC, Act II, scene iii, signature C, recto:

           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.

         • 1840 April – 1841 November, Charles Dickens, “Chapter the Sixty-third”, in The Old Curiosity Shop. A Tale. , volume II, London: Chapman and Hall, , published 1841, →OCLC, page 153:

           Then up comes Mr. Brass, very brisk and fresh: […] folds his arms, and looks at his gentleman as much as to say, "Here I am—full of evidence—Tap me!" And the gentleman does tap him presently, and with great discretion too; drawing off the evidence little by little, and making it run quite clear and bright in the eyes of all present.

         • 1931, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], “Hop-picking”, in Sonia Orwell, Ian Angus, editors, An Age Like This: 1920–1940 (The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell; I), New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace & World, published 1968, →OCLC, page 57:

           For our supper, Ginger tapped the local butcher, who gave us the best part of two pounds of sausages. Butchers are always very generous on Saturday nights.

         • 1935, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter 2, in A Clergyman’s Daughter, London: Secker & Warburg, published 1969, →OCLC, § 2, page 107:

           From morning to night they were begging. They wandered enormous distances, zigzagging right across the county, trailing from village and from house to house, ‘tapping’ at every butcher’s and every baker’s and every likely-looking cottage, […]

         • 1990 June, James Ellroy, L.A. Confidential, New York, N.Y.: The Mysterious Press, →ISBN, page 228:

           "Yes, your buddy. A bit chewed up, I'm afraid. A burglar called it in. He was about to tap the house, then he saw the body. Pry marks on the doorjamb, so I buy it. Don't look inside if you've eaten."

         • 2012 April 10, Ian Crouch, “Instagram’s Instant Nostalgia”, in The New Yorker‎, New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-06-05:

           Much has been made of the connection between Instagram and the generalized hipster sensibility, which places a premium value on the old, the artisanal, and the idiosyncratic. But Instagram taps a fetishization of the past that is more universal.

         • 2022 September 15, Drew Harwell, “DHS built huge database from cellphones, computers seized at border”, in The Washington Post‎, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 1 October 2022:

           Agents from the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, another Department of Homeland Security agency, have run facial recognition searches on millions of Americans' driver's license photos. They have tapped private databases of people's financial and utility records to learn where they live. And they have gleaned location data from license-plate reader databases that can be used to track where people drive.

      3. To deplete (something); to tap out.
         • 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, “‘Our Eyes have seen Great Wonders’”, in The Lost World , London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC, page 274:

           At the range of a couple of hundred yards we emptied our magazines, firing bullet after bullet into the beasts, but with no more effect than if we were pelting them with pellets of paper. Their slow reptilian natures cared nothing for wounds, and the springs of their lives, with no special brain centre but scattered throughout their spinal cords, could not be tapped by any modern weapons.

      4. (informal) 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.

         Synonyms: see Thesaurus:scrounge

         I tried to tap a cigarette off him, but he wouldn’t give me one.

         • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 7: Aeolus]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, , →OCLC, part II , page 115:

           Thanks, old man, Hynes said. I'll tap him too. […] Three bob I lent him in Meagher's. Three weeks. Third hint.

      5. (communication, chiefly law enforcement) 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).

         Synonym: eavesdrop

         They can’t tap the phone without a warrant.

         • 1909, [George] Bernard Shaw, Press Cuttings: A Topical Sketch , London: Constable and Company, →OCLC, page 3:

           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.

         • 1938 April, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter XI, in Homage to Catalonia, London: Secker & Warburg, →OCLC, pages 160–161:

           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.

         • 1971 August 6, Frederick Forsyth, “Anatomy of a Kill”, in The Day of the Jackal, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Viking Press, →ISBN, page 347:

           "Oh, there is one thing," the Minister called after Lebel, "how did you know to tap the telephone line of Colonel Saint-Clair's private apartment?" Lebel turned in the doorway and shrugged. "I didn't," he said, "so last night I tapped all your telephones. Good day, gentlemen."

         • 2023 May 23, “Is E.T. Eavesdropping on Our Phone Calls?”, in Scientific American‎, New York, N.Y.: Springer Nature America, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-10-03:

           Ever worry about shadowy forces tapping your phone calls and listening in on your private conversations? Well, astronomers have some good news for you: it won't be aliens with their ears (or whatever auditory sensory organs they have evolved) to the speaker getting into your business—unless they've done a lot better than we have at funding radio astronomers.

      7. (board games, card games) To turn over (a playing card or playing piece) to remind players that it has already been used in that round.
      8. (poker) 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.
         • 1957 October 6, Roy Huggins, “According to Hoyle”, in Maverick, season 1, episode 3 (television series), spoken by Samantha Crawford (Diane Brewster), Burbank, Calif.: Warner Bros. Pictures, →OCLC:

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

   4. (horticulture) To remove a taproot from (a plant).
   5. (mechanics)
      1. 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.

      2. To cut an external screw thread into (a bolt or rod) to create a screw.
      3. To put (a screw or other object) in or through another thing.
2. (intransitive)
   1. To act as a tapster; to draw an alcoholic beverage from a container.
      • c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare,   he Merrie Wiues of Windsor.  (First Quarto), London: T C for Arthur Ihonson, , published 1602, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], signature B, verso:

        Ile entertaine Bardolfe. He ſhall tap, he ſhall dravv.

      • 1625 (date written), Philip Massinger, A New Way to Pay Old Debts: A Comœdie , London: E P for Henry Seyle, , published 1633, →OCLC, Act IV, scene ii, signature , verso:

        […] I heere doe damne thy licence,
        Forbidding thee euer to tap, or dravv.

   2. (obsolete) To spend money, etc., freely.
      • 1712 December 12 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “MONDAY, December 1, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 550; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, , volume VI, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 170:

        A certain country gentleman began to tap upon the first information he received of sir Roger's death: when he sent me up word that, if I would get him chosen in the place of the deceased, he would present me with a barrel of the best October I had ever drank in my life.

        The spelling has been modernized.

The verb is derived from Middle English tappen, teppen (“to give (something) a knock or tap; to hit (something) lightly, pat, tap”),^[5] either:^[6]

• imitative of the making of a tapping sound; or
• from Old French tapper, taper (“to tap”) (modern French taper), from Frankish *tappōn, *dabbōn (“to strike”), or from Middle Low German tappen, tapen (“to rap, strike, tap”), both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *dab- (“to strike”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰebʰ- (“to beat, strike; to stun; to be speechless”). Doublet of dab.

Verb sense 1.1.1 (“to arrest (someone)”) and sense 1.6 (“to choose or designate (someone) for a duty, etc.”) allude to a police officer or other person tapping someone on their shoulder to catch their attention or to select them.

The noun is derived from Middle English tap, tappe (“light blow or hit”),^[7] and then either:^[8]

• from Middle English tappen (verb) (see above); or
• from Old French tape (“light slap or touch, pat”) (modern French tape), from tapper, taper (verb) (see above).

tap (third-person singular simple present taps, present participle tapping, simple past and past participle tapped)

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

      She tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.

      • 1625, John Barlow, “Vers 7. For God hath not giuen vs the Spirit of feare, but of power, and of loue, and of a sound mind.”, in An Exposition of the Second Epistle of the Apostle Paul to Timothy, the First Chapter. , London: I D for Iohn Bellamie, , →OCLC, page 180:

        Let vs then get vviſdome in the guiding of all our ſpeeches, and perſvvaſions. Imitate the threſher, vvhen thou art to deale vvith thy Brother; vvho firſt Tappeth his Corne in the ſheafe, before he lay on greater ſtroakes, for elſe the good graine vvould fly into euery corner, and the ſtravv not endure the flayle: ſo, begin by degrees vvith another, and vvhen he vvill endure Tapping, then ſmite harder, or elſe thou doſt but labour in vaine.

      • 1761, [Laurence Sterne], “Slawkenbergius’s Tale”, in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, volume IV, London: R and J Dodsley , →OCLC, page 17:

        I hope, continued the ſtranger, ſtroking dovvn the face of his mule vvith his left-hand as he vvas going to mount it, that you have been kind to this faithful ſlave of mine—it has carried me and my cloak-bag, continued he, tapping the mule's back, above ſix hundred leagues.

      • 1840, [Frederick] Marryat, “Bramble’s Method of Education Proves Very Effective. He also Points Out a Position in which You may Prefer Your Enemies to Your Friends.”, in Poor Jack. , London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longmans, , →OCLC, page 171:

        I went to bed, was tapped up as before by Bessy, assisted her to clean every thing, taking off her hands all the heaviest of the work; […]

      • 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, “Between London and Chatham”, in Vanity Fair , London: Bradbury and Evans , published 1848, →OCLC, page 230:

        He did not see the sneer of contempt which passed all round the room, […] as he sate there tapping his boot with his cane, and thinking what a parcel of miserable poor devils these were.

      • 1856, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “Third Book”, in Aurora Leigh, London: Chapman and Hall, , published 1857, →OCLC, page 123:

        The pedlar stopped, and tapped her on the head
        With absolute forefinger, brown and ringed,
        And asked if peradventure she could read; […]

      • 1906 August, Alfred Noyes, “The Highwayman”, in Poems, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., published October 1906, →OCLC, part 1, stanza III, page 46:

        Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,
        And he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred; […]

      • 1938, Norman Lindsay, chapter XIV, in Age of Consent, London: T Werner Laurie , →OCLC, page 143:

        Bradly tapped the ashes from his pipe, signifying a leisured interlude over. "Time to get a move on," he said, and began to unlace his boots for wading.

      2. (slang) Also in the form tap on the shoulder: to arrest (someone).
         • 1830, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter VIII, in Paul Clifford. , volume II, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, , →OCLC, page 225:

           We are certainly scented here, and I walk about like a barrel of beer at Christmas, under hourly apprehension of being tapped!

         • 1999 February, Charlotte Carter, Coq Au Vin, New York, N.Y.: The Mysterious Press, →ISBN, page 129:

           "You have to pack up and get out of there, girl. You could end up being tapped for that pimp's murder. The police ain't gonna hear about finding your aunt Viv. Or about Andre's butt. What are y'all going to do if they point the finger at him? If the cops over there are like they are over here, they ain't gonna look no further than the first black man they can put their hands on. They'll put his long legs under the jail."

         • 2006, Noire , Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 108:

           "Ain't gone be no Rikers Island for you next time," I warned him. "You get tapped on another gun charge and you looking at some upstate time."

      3. (slang, vulgar) To have sexual intercourse with (someone).

         Synonyms: hit, wap; see also Thesaurus:copulate with

         I would tap that hot girl over there.

         I’d tap that.

         • 1959, Wenzell Brown, Teen-age Mafia, Greenwich, Conn.: Gold Medal Books, →OCLC, page 34:

           What does waiting get you? Sure, I know the score, Connie. You ain't never been tapped. But what are you saving it for? It's either going to be me or some other guy. Look, if I join up with the Dags I gotta have a deb that gives. If I don't, all the guys will be ranking me.

         • 2006, Noire , Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 138:

           Passion was wild. She was the first chick I'd been with who liked to fuck in strange places. I'd tapped that ass in the girl's bathroom in every fast food restaurant we could find.

         • 2007 September 19, Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Savage, “Pilot”, in Gossip Girl, season 1, episode 1 (television series), spoken by Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick):

           What we're entitled to is a house in the Hamptons. Maybe a prescription drug problem. But happiness does not seem to be on the menu so smoke up and seal the deal with Blair because you're also entitled to tap that ass.

         • 2016, Tabitha Levin, “Emma”, in Rock Hard (Rock Star; 2), : Tabitha Levin, →OCLC:

           "He's handsome, isn't he? If he didn't have a girlfriend, I'd tap him for sure." "Excuse me?" Emma looked over to see who was talking to her. A woman old enough to be her mother was eyeing the band. "The lead singer. Everyone wants him." The woman parted her lips and sighed.

         • 2017, Don Winslow, The Force, London: HarperCollinsPublishers, →ISBN, page 95:

           But Sheila was in no mood for legalisms. "It never bothered you when we were married, though, did it, Denny? You and your brother cops tapping everything with a pussy. Hey, do they know? Russo and Big Monty, they know you're stirring tar?"

         • 2019, Julia Kent, chapter 2, in Perky (Do-over Series; 2), : [CreateSpace], →ISBN:

           "If I weren't married," Hasty says, eyeing Parker like he's a side of grass-fed organic beef and she's Michael Pollan, "I'd tap that."

      4. (slang) To shoot (someone or something) with a firearm.
         • 2000, Christopher Cook, Robbers, New York, N.Y.: Carroll & Graf Publishers, →ISBN, page 12:

           Heard that, too, Rose said. A thirtyeight revolver. Only you tapped him with a rifle from a hundred yards out.

         • 2010, Dana Marton, The Socialite and the Bodyguard, Toronto, Ont.: Harlequin Enterprises, →ISBN, page 84:

           Not something he worried a lot about since in his line of work, chances were better than good that he wasn't going to live that long. When your job was to step between a bullet and its intended recipient, sooner or later you were going to be tapped, for sure.

         • 2023 April 5, “Nicky Nine Door”‎performed by Smiley:

           Fuck a tap dance niggas head get tapped
           If you not a real member you won't get a pass

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

      Synonyms: hit, patter, pound, rap, strike; see also Thesaurus:hit

      You can pay by tapping your card.

      He was so nervous he began to tap his fingers on the table.

      • 1819 June 23, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “Rip Van Winkle”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., number I, New York, N.Y.: C S. Van Winkle, , →OCLC, page 87:

        The bystanders began now to loook at each other, nod, wink significantly, and tap their fingers against their foreheads.

      • 1847, Alfred Tennyson, “Prologue”, in The Princess: A Medley, London: Edward Moxon, , →OCLC, page 8:

        At this upon the sward
        She tapt her tiny silken-sandal'd foot:
        'That's your light way; but I would make it death
        For any male thing but to peep at us.'

      • 1864, J[oseph] Sheridan Le Fanu, “Deep and Shallow”, in Wylder’s Hand. , New York, N.Y.: Carleton, , published 1865, →OCLC, page 262:

        The attorney had the statement of title in one hand, and leaning back in his chair, read it demurely in silence, with the other tapping the seal end of his gold pencil-case between his lips.

      1. (transitive) To lightly touch a touchscreen, usually an icon or button, to activate a function.

         Next, tap on the browser to get on the internet.

      2. (transitive) To lightly and repeatedly touch (a person or one or more body parts) as part of various forms of psychological treatment.

         The therapist tapped him when he was overcome by anxiety.

   3. (combat sports) 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.
      • 2000 October 14, “K®Æz¥ k ° †€°”, “Kimo Tapped Sakuraba”, in alt.ufc‎ (Usenet):

        Hard to believe Kimo [Leopoldo] used a triangle choke to tap [Kazushi] Sak[uraba], but 4 years can make a difference.

      • 2003 April 2, “Eddie”, “I Tapped Somebody!”, in rec.martial-arts‎ (Usenet):

        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.

      • 2004 April 7, “Araxen”, “UFC vs. Boxing”, in rec.sport.boxing‎ (Usenet):

        [Genki] Sudo weighed 1/4 of what Butterbean [i.e., Eric Esch] weighs and he still tapped Butterbean.

   4. (graphical user interface) 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).

      Coordinate terms: swipe, click

      • 2010, Tony Bove, “Your Pocket Picture Player”, in iPod & iTunes For Dummies (For Dummies), 7th edition, Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley Publishing, →ISBN, part IV (Playing It back on Your iPod or iPhone), page 301:

        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.

      • 2019 July 10, Vanessa Chang, “How Phone Taps and Swipes Train Us to Be Better Consumers”, in Wired‎, San Francisco, C.A.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-06-10:

        As you type, your fingers play an idiosyn­cratic composition of keystroke rhythms on your keyboard. Similarly, the swipes and taps on your touch­screen form a living signature of your movement. The emerging field of gesture biometrics uses these movement signatures in security and other applications in interface design.

      • 2022 January 20, Jon Porter, “Amazon’s First Clothing Store Lets You Summon Clothes to the Fitting Room”, in The Verge‎, archived from the original on 2024-01-05:

        Amazon says clothes racks will feature QR codes, which customers can scan to see available sizes, colors, customer ratings, and product details. Then, with a tap of a button, selected items will be sent to a fitting room to try on without having to first rummage through racks.

   5. (British, dialectal or US) 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

   7. (chiefly US, informal) 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.

      • 1949, Audie Murphy, To Hell and Back, New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company, →OCLC, page 132:

        One day reconnaissance informs us that the krauts have moved up their forward outposts in our sector. It could be the prelude to an attack. A patrol is organized to knock out the positions. In our platoon Kerrigan, Berner, and Thompson get tapped for service.

      • 2013 January 20, Emily Bazelon, “‘My Beloved World,’ by Sonia Sotomayor”, in The New York Times‎, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-09-19:

        Hardly a radical, she was more the type that got tapped for a ­student-faculty committee.

      • 2014, Karen Rose, Closer Than You Think, London: Headline Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 463:

        'Special Agent Hudgins,' he said, holding the door wide open. 'My office was closest to the scene so I got tapped to secure it for you Cincinnati guys. But I have to tell you, this wasn't what I expected when I got the call to come out here.'

      • 2018 March 9, Drew Schwartz, “This New Yorker Hired a Hitman to ‘Take Care of’ His Noisy Neighbors, Feds Say”, in VICE‎, archived from the original on 2023-11-07:

        Unbeknownst to Rosquette, the contract killer he'd just tapped for the job was an FBI informant.

      • 2020 November 14, Charlotte Klein, “Trump Apparently Thinks Rudy Giuliani Can Save His Flailing Court Battles”, in Radhika Jones, editor, Vanity Fair‎, New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-06-01:

        With his so-called election-fraud lawsuits being thrown out left and right, the president [Donald Trump] has tapped his personal lawyer [Rudy Giuliani] to spearhead his campaign's remaining legal options. Insiders are reportedly "concerned."

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

      Synonyms: bang, hit, ping, rap

      The tree was swaying in the breeze and tapping on the window pane.

      • 1791, [Ann Radcliffe], chapter X, in The Romance of the Forest: , volume II, London: T Hookham and J. Carpenter, , →OCLC, page 82:

        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.

      • 1845 February, — Quarles [pseudonym; Edgar Allan Poe], “The Raven”, in The American Review‎, volume I, number II, New York, N.Y., London: Wiley & Putnam, , →OCLC, page 144:

        And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
        That I scarce was sure I heard you […]

      • 1849, Charles Swain, “The Three Callers”, in English Melodies, London: [Spottiswoode and Shaw] for Longman, Brown, Green, & Longmans, , →OCLC, page 33:

        Night tappeth gently at a casement gleaming
        With the thin fire light, flick'ring faint and low; […]

      • 1873, William Black, “A New Day Breaks”, in A Princess of Thule. , New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers, →OCLC, page 315:

        There was a light in Ingram's windows, which were on the ground-floor; he tapped with his stick on one of the panes—an old signal that had been in constant use when he and Ingram were close companions and friends.

      • 1891, Thomas Hardy, chapter XLIV, in Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented , volume III, London: James R Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., , →OCLC, phase the fifth (The Woman Pays), page 67:

        They heard her footsteps tap along the hard road as she stepped out to her full pace.

      • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 11: Sirens]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, , →OCLC, part II , page 277:

        A stripling, blind, with a tapping cane, came taptaptapping by Daly's window […]

   2. To walk by striking the ground lightly with a clear sound.
      • 1749, Henry Fielding, “The Adventures which Sophia Met with, after Her Leaving Upton”, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume IV, London: A Millar, , →OCLC, book XI, page 110:

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

   3. Of a bell, a drum, etc.: to make a sharp noise, often as a signal.
   4. (combat sports) 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.
   5. (obsolete) Of a hare or rabbit: to strike the ground repeatedly with its feet during the rutting season.
      • 1575, Jacques du Fouilloux, “Of the Termes of Venery”, in George Gascoigne, transl., The Noble Art of Venerie or Hunting. , London: Thomas Purfoot, published 1611, →OCLC, page 240:

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

tap (countable and uncountable, plural taps)

1. (countable)
   1. 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.

      • 1573, George Gascoigne, “A Discourse of the Adventures Passed by Master F. I.”, in A Hundreth Sundrie Flowres Bounde up in One Small Poesie. , London: [Henry Bynneman and Henry Middleton for] Richarde Smith, →OCLC, page 266:

        And much greater is the wrong that rewardeth euill for good, than that which requireth tip for tap: […]

      • c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henrie the Fourth, , quarto edition, London: V S for Andrew Wise, and William Aspley, published 1600, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], signature C3, verso:

        [T]his is the right fencing grace, my Lord, tap for tap, and ſo part faire.

      • c. 1613, Thomas Middleton, William Rowley, “Wit at Several Weapons. A Comedy.”, in Comedies and Tragedies , London: Humphrey Robinson, , and for Humphrey Moseley , published 1647, →OCLC, Act III, scene i, page 80, column 2:

        [W]hen a man's ſore beaten a both ſides already,
        Then the leaſt tap in jeſt goes to the guts on him; […]

      • 1711 July 8 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “WEDNESDAY, June 27, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 102; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, , volume II, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 58:

        [U]pon my word to Handle their fans, each of them shakes her fan at me with a smile, then gives her right-hand woman a tap upon the shoulder, then presses her lips with the extremity of her fan, then lets her arms fall in an easy motion, and stands in readiness to receive the next word of command.

        The spelling has been modernized.

      • 1794 May 8, Ann Radcliffe, chapter VII, in The Mysteries of Udolpho, a Romance; , volume I, Dublin: Hillary and Barlow, for Messrs. P. Wogan, W. Jones, and H. Colbert, →OCLC, page 111:

        [H]e ſunk into a kind of doze, and Emily continued to vvatch and vveep beſide him, till a gentle tap at the chamber-door rouſed her.

      • 1840, [Frederick] Marryat, “‘Recollect,’ Says the Fellow, ‘You Have Thrown Overboard a Black Tom Cat!’”, in Poor Jack. , London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longmans, , →OCLC, page 162:

        [T]he water went tap, tap, tap against the bends, with a most melancholy sound.

      • 1862, George Augustus Sala, “Down among the Bad Men”, in The Seven Sons of Mammon: , volume II, London: Tinsley Brothers, , →OCLC, page 194:

        About eight minutes had been allowed for this tub-diet, and every one of them was by this time empty. The convicts were called off by the tap of a drum, […]

      • 1897, Bram Stoker, “Dr. Seward’s Diary—continued”, in Dracula, New York, N.Y.: Modern Library, →OCLC, chapter XIII, page 180:

        I was undressing in my own room, when, with a premonitory tap at the door, he entered, and at once began to speak:— ¶ "To-morrow I want you to bring me, before night, a set of post-mortem knives."

   2. (informal, minimizer, chiefly in the negative) The smallest amount of work; a stroke of work.
      • 1953, Samuel Beckett, chapter II, in Watt, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Grove Press, published 1959, →OCLC, page 118:

        For to the first floor his duties never took him, at this period, nor to the second, once he had made his bed, and swept clean his little room, which he did every morning the first thing, before coming down, on an empty stomach. Whereas Erskine never did a tap on the ground floor, but all his duties were on the first floor.

      • 1964, Jim Blair, The Secret of the Reef, London: Angus & Robertson, →OCLC, page 13:

        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.

      • 2021, Karen Woods, Tracks, Manchester: HarperNorth, →ISBN, page 82:

        Bone idle, Charlie was, he had never done a tap in the house, always 'busy' whenever she asked him to do anything.

   3. (dance) 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.
   4. (firearms, slang) A shot fired from a firearm.
   5. (graphical user interface) 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.

      Coordinate term: click

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

      Synonym: flap

   7. (British, dialectal or US) 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.

      Synonym: heeltap

      • 1954 June 10, John Steinbeck, “Enter Suzy”, in Sweet Thursday, 1st British edition, London: William Heinemann, →OCLC, page 33:

        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.

2. (uncountable, dance) Ellipsis of tap dance.
   • 1944, Noel Streatfeild, “Cousins”, in Curtain Up (Pennant Books), London: J[oseph] M[alaby] Dent & Sons, published 1964, →OCLC, page 97:

     Now, until you get to wearing block shoes, the same sandals do for everything except tap, and the world doesn't come to an end if you just wear your tunic knickers and a shirt for tap; but when we could get the stuff there was all that changing into rompers, and we'd special satin sandals for ballet. It was change, change, all the time.

   • 2000, Ian Driver, “Sight and Sound: Tap Dancing”, in A Century of Dance, London: Hamlyn, →ISBN, page 116, column 1:

     As successful commercially as it was critically, Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk established Savion Glover as the new tap superstar.

   • 2009 February 21, Patrick Kidd, “Out of the ordinary: Tap dancing”, in The Times‎, London: News UK, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 November 2022:

     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.

   • 2014 March 25, Samantha Grossman, “The 10 Best Tap Dance Scenes in Film”, in Time‎, New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-12-15:

     In this iconic staircase number [The Little Colonel], Bill "Bojangles" Robinson tutors Shirley Temple in the art of tap.

From Persian or Urdu تب (tab, “malarial fever”), ultimately from Sanskrit ताप (tāpa, “fever; heat; pain, torment”).^[9]

tap (uncountable)

1. (India, chiefly East India) A malarial fever.