tap

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); specifically, ellipsis of taproot (“long, tapering root of a plant”).broadly

3. 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.broadly

   • We don’t have bottled water; you’ll have to get it from the tap.
   • Is the tap water here safe to drink?
4. 4

   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.; A procedure that removes fluid from a body cavity; paracentesis.broadlyinformal

   • abdominal tap pleural tap spinal tap
5. 5

   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.broadly

   • a liquor of the same tap
6. 6

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

7. 7

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

   • telephone tap
8. 8

   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.broadly

   • bond tap tap issue
9. 9

   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.broadly

   • We drilled a hole and then cut the threads with the proper tap to match the valve’s thread.
10. 10

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

    • 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, […]

syn. clap · knock · pat · ping · plip · plonk · plop · rap · slam · slap · smack · spank

ant. humming

1. 1

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

   • 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.
2. 2

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

   • He tapped the ten-year-old whiskey from its barrel.
   • If we tap the maple trees, we can get maple syrup.
3. 3

   To draw off (a liquid) from a container or other source; also, to draw off a liquid from (a container or other source).; To drain off fluid from (a person or a body cavity) by paracentesis.informaltransitive

   • […] 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.
4. 4

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

   • Businesses are trying to tap the youth market.
   • He tried to tap cable television without a subscription.
5. 5

   To deplete (something); to tap out.figurativelytransitive

   • 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 wound
6. 6

   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.figurativelyinformaltransitive

   • I tried to tap a cigarette off him, but he wouldn’t give me one.
7. 7

   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).figurativelytransitive

   • They can’t tap the phone without a warrant.
8. 8

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

9. 9

   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.figurativelytransitive

   • I think there's an expression in poker. I'll tap you, Mr. Maverick.
10. 10

    To remove a taproot from (a plant).transitive

1. 1

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

   • Emma tapped Jim on the shoulder to get his attention.
2. 2

   To strike (someone or something), chiefly lightly with a clear sound, but sometimes hard.; Also in the form tap on the shoulder: to arrest (someone).slangtransitive

   • We are certainly scented here, and I walk about like a barrel of beer at Christmas, under hourly apprehension of being tapped!
   • "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. 3

   To strike (someone or something), chiefly lightly with a clear sound, but sometimes hard.; To have sexual intercourse with (someone).slangtransitivevulgar

   • I would tap that hot girl over there.
   • I’d tap that.
4. 4

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

   • Heard that, too, Rose said. A thirtyeight revolver. Only you tapped him with a rifle from a hundred yards out.
   • Fuck a tap dance niggas head get tapped If you not a real member you won't get a pass
5. 5

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

   • You can pay by tapping your card.
   • He was so nervous he began to tap his fingers on the table.
6. 6

   To (lightly) touch (a finger, foot, or other body part) on a surface, often repeatedly.; To lightly touch a touchscreen, usually an icon or button, to activate a function.transitive

   • Next, tap on the browser to get on the internet.
7. 7

   To (lightly) touch (a finger, foot, or other body part) on a surface, often repeatedly.; To lightly and repeatedly touch (a person or one or more body parts) as part of various forms of psychological treatment.transitive

   • The therapist tapped him when he was overcome by anxiety.
8. 8

   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.transitive

   • 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.
9. 9

   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).transitive

   • 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.
10. 10

    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.UKUSdialectal

    • to tap shoes

1. 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.countableuncountable

   • When Steve felt a tap on his shoulder, he turned around.
2. 2

   The smallest amount of work; a stroke of work.countableinformaluncountable

   • 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.
3. 3

   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.countableuncountable

4. 4

   A shot fired from a firearm.countableslanguncountable

5. 5

   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.countableuncountable

6. 6

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

7. 7

   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.UKUScountable

   • 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.
8. 8

   Ellipsis of tap dance.abbreviationalt-ofellipsis

   • 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.

syn. clap · knock · pat · ping · plip · plonk · plop · rap · slam · slap · smack · spank

ant. humming

1. 1

   A malarial fever.EastIndiauncountable

   • 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.

syn. clap · knock · pat · ping · plip · plonk · plop · rap · slam · slap · smack · spank

ant. humming