tap

noun

1. A conical peg or pin used to close and open the hole or vent in a container.
2. (broadly)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. (broadly)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. (broadly, informal)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.

   “abdominal tap    pleural tap    spinal tap”

5. (broadly)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”

   “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.”

   “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.”

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

6. (broadly)A device used to listen in secretly on telephone calls or other communications.
7. (broadly)A secret interception of telephone calls or other communications using such a device; also, a recording of such a communication.

   “telephone tap”

   “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."”

8. (broadly)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”

9. (broadly)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.”

10. (British, abbreviation, alt-of, broadly, ellipsis)Ellipsis of taphouse or taproom (“place where alcoholic beverages are served on tap”).

    “[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.— […]”

    “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, […]”

11. (British, broadly)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.”

12. (countable, uncountable)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.”

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

    “[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.”

13. (countable, informal, uncountable)The smallest amount of work; a stroke of work.

    “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.”

    “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.”

14. (countable, uncountable)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.
15. (countable, slang, uncountable)A shot fired from a firearm.
16. (countable, uncountable)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.
17. (countable, uncountable)A single muscle contraction in vocal organs causing a consonant sound; also, the sound so made.
18. (British, US, countable, dialectal, uncountable)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.”

19. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, uncountable)Ellipsis of tap dance.

    “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.”

    “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.”

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

20. (East, India, uncountable)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.”

    “But, when I heard her speak soft Urdu words, Like a white angel in her pity of us, No whit afraid of sitla, or of tap Fever or pest!”

21. (abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable)Initialism of talk aloud protocol.
22. (abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable)Initialism of think aloud protocol.
23. (abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable)Initialism of total audience package: an offering that includes ads broadcast during every part of the schedule.

verb

1. (broadly, transitive)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.”

   “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.”

2. (transitive)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, […]”

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

   “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?”

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

   “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.”

   “[…] 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. (figuratively, transitive)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.”

   “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.”

   “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.”

5. (figuratively, transitive)To deplete (something); to tap out.

   “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.”

6. (figuratively, informal, transitive)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.”

7. (figuratively, transitive)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.”

   “"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."”

   “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.”

8. (figuratively, transitive)To turn over (a playing card or playing piece) to remind players that it has already been used in that round.
9. (figuratively, transitive)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.”

10. (transitive)To remove a taproot from (a plant).
11. (transitive)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.”

12. (transitive)To cut an external screw thread into (a bolt or rod) to create a screw.
13. (transitive)To put (a screw or other object) in or through another thing.
14. (intransitive)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.”

15. (intransitive, obsolete)To spend money, etc., freely.

    “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.”

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

    “She tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.”

    “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.”

    “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.”

    “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; […]”

    “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.”

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

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

    “"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."”

    “"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."”

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

    “I would tap that hot girl over there.”

    “I’d tap that.”

    “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.”

    “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.”

    “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.”

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

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

    “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.”

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

20. (transitive)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.”

    “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.'”

    “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.”

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

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

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

    “The therapist tapped him when he was overcome by anxiety.”

23. (transitive)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.”

24. (transitive)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.”

    “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.”

    “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.”

25. (British, US, dialectal, transitive)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”

26. (US, informal, transitive)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.”

    “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.”

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

    “'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.'”

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

27. (intransitive)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 […]”

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

    “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.”

28. (intransitive)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.”

29. (intransitive)Of a bell, a drum, etc.: to make a sharp noise, often as a signal.
30. (intransitive)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.
31. (intransitive, obsolete)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.”

name

1. The station code of Tai Po Market in Hong Kong.
2. (abbreviation, alt-of, initialism)Initialism of The Ada Project.