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tap

[ UK /tˈæp/ ]
[ US /ˈtæp/ ]
NOUN
  1. a faucet for drawing water from a pipe or cask
  2. a tool for cutting female (internal) screw threads
  3. a gentle blow
  4. a small metal plate that attaches to the toe or heel of a shoe (as in tap dancing)
  5. a light touch or stroke
  6. a plug for a bunghole in a cask
  7. the act of tapping a telephone or telegraph line to get information
  8. the sound made by a gentle blow
VERB
  1. draw from; make good use of
    we must exploit the resources we are given wisely
  2. tap a telephone or telegraph wire to get information
    The FBI was tapping the phone line of the suspected spy
    Is this hotel room bugged?
  3. dance and make rhythmic clicking sounds by means of metal plates nailed to the sole of the dance shoes
    Glover tapdances better than anybody
  4. make light, repeated taps on a surface
    he was tapping his fingers on the table impatiently
  5. make a solicitation or entreaty for something; request urgently or persistently
    Henry IV solicited the Pope for a divorce
    My neighbor keeps soliciting money for different charities
  6. furnish with a tap or spout, so as to be able to draw liquid from it
    tap a cask of wine
  7. draw from or dip into to get something
    tap a source of money
    tap one's memory
  8. walk with a tapping sound
  9. strike lightly
    He tapped me on the shoulder
  10. cut a female screw thread with a tap
  11. pierce in order to draw a liquid from
    tap a maple tree for its syrup
    tap a keg of beer
  12. draw (liquor) from a tap
    tap beer in a bar
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How To Use tap In A Sentence

  • She tore her eyes from them for a moment to spy the bodhrán player in the tree, tapping out her rhythm with her eyes closed, not noticing the spy amongst them.
  • He pulled himself up and stumbled to the bathroom, where he turned on the cold tap and collapsed at the bottom of the shower, barely awake.
  • She is also part of a large group of oceanographers and taphonomists of the SSETI project (Shelf / Slope Taphonomic Initiative) examining carbonate preservation and destruction across the shelf and slope regions in Gulf of Mexico and Bahamas using submersibles.
  • Mr Smith said the department's own funds, which have bankrolled major improvements in the naval service, had been well tapped and it was now time to explore new ways of funding.
  • Perhaps it comes straight out of that party line dictionary that was written in a smoke-filled room in Sevastapol Street by the same faceless Provo apparatchik who a few years back advocated the practically endless use of the term 'securocrat'. Archive 2009-01-01
  • With a few turns of tape, I fastened the plastic cup to the end of the pole.
  • But it is worthwhile teasing this apart a little, unbinding the different aspects of rhetorics lumped together in one component and separating out the semiotic layering (i.e. the use of metaphor and metonym) stuck in with the second. On the Sublime
  • These words (holpen a little with a metaphor) may express two differing abilities, in those that deal in business of estate. The Essays
  • A steady stream of self-released mix tapes and videos - all adhering to the group's cartoonishly horrifying aesthetic, all a bit more deranged than the rest - increased the buzz and kept the conversation going. In concert: OFWGKTA at U Street Music Hall
  • As a streaming technology, tape drives work best when data is coming to them at their rated speed.
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