on tap

Ads

NetApp® Data ONTAP 8 netapp.conres.com/ Achieve automated data management. Complimentary consultation/pricing

noun

a cylindrical stick, long plug, or stopper for closing an opening through which liquid is drawn, as in a cask; spigot.

a faucet or cock.

the liquor drawn through a particular tap.

British. a taphouse or taproom.

a tool for cutting screw threads into the cylindrical surface of a round opening.

Surgery. the withdrawal of fluid: spinal tap.

a hole made in tapping, as one in a pipe to furnish connection for a branch pipe.

Electricity. a connection brought out of a winding at some point between its extremities, for controlling the voltage ratio.

Informal. an act or instance of wiretapping.

10.

Archaic. a particular kind or quality of drink.

verb (used with object)

11.

to draw liquid from (a vessel or container).

12.

to draw off (liquid) by removing or opening a tap or by piercing a container.

13.

to draw the tap or plug from or pierce (a cask or other container).

14.

to penetrate, open up, reach into, etc., for the purpose of using something or drawing something off; begin to use: to tap one's resources.

15.

to connect into secretly so as to receive the message or signal being transmitted: to tap a telephone wire or telephone.

16.

to furnish (a cask, container, pipe, etc.) with a tap.

17.

to cut a screw thread into the surface of (an opening).

18.

to open outlets from (power lines, highways, pipes, etc.).

00:10

On tap is always a great word to know.

So is bezoar. Does it mean:

a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Verb phrases

19.

tap into, Informal. to gain access to; become friendly with: The candidate tapped into some wealthy supporters.

20.

tap off, to remove (liquid, molten metal, etc.) from a keg, furnace, or the like: to tap off slag from a blast furnace.

Idioms

21.

on tap,

ready to be drawn and served, as liquor from a cask.

furnished with a tap or cock, as a barrel containing liquor.

Informal. ready for immediate use; available: There are numerous other projects on tap.

Origin:
before 1050; (noun) Middle English tappe, Old English tæppa; cognate with Dutch tap, Old High German zapfo, Old Norse tappi; (v.) Middle English tappen, Old English tæppian; cognate with Middle Low German, Middle Dutch tappen, German zapfen, Old Norse tappa

Related forms

tap·pa·ble, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source

Link To on tap

Collins

World English Dictionary

tap¹ (tæp)

—vb , taps, tapping, tapped
1.	to strike (something) lightly and usually repeatedly: to tap the table; to tap on the table
2.	(tr) to produce by striking in this way: to tap a rhythm
3.	(tr) to strike lightly with (something): to tap one's finger on the desk
4.	(intr) to walk with a tapping sound: she tapped across the floor
5.	(tr) to attach metal or leather reinforcing pieces to (the toe or heel of a shoe)

—n
6.	a light blow or knock, or the sound made by it
7.	the metal piece attached to the toe or heel of a shoe used for tap-dancing
8.	See tap dance short for tap-dancing
9.	phonetics the contact made between the tip of the tongue and the alveolar ridge as the tongue is flicked upwards in the execution of a flap or vibrates rapidly in the execution of a trill or roll

[C13 tappen, probably from Old French taper, of Germanic origin; related to Middle Low German tappen to pluck, Swedish dialect täpa to tap]

'tappable¹

—*adj*

tap² (tæp)

—n
1.	US and Canadian name: faucet a valve by which a fluid flow from a pipe can be controlled by opening and closing an orifice
2.	a stopper to plug a cask or barrel and enable the contents to be drawn out in a controlled flow
3.	a particular quality of alcoholic drink, esp when contained in casks: an excellent tap
4.	(Brit) short for taproom
5.	the surgical withdrawal of fluid from a bodily cavity: a spinal tap
6.	Compare die Also called: screw tap a tool for cutting female screw threads, consisting of a threaded steel cylinder with longitudinal grooves forming cutting edges
7.	chiefly (US), (Canadian) electronics Usual Brit name: tapping a connection made at some point between the end terminals of an inductor, resistor, or some other component
8.	stock exchange
	a. an issue of a government security released slowly onto the market when its market price reaches a predetermined level
	b. (as modifier): tap stock; tap issue
9.	a concealed listening or recording device connected to a telephone or telegraph wire for the purpose of obtaining information secretly
10.	on tap
	a. informal ready for immediate use
	b. (of drinks) on draught

—vb , taps, tapping, tapped
11.	to furnish with a tap
12.	to draw off with or as if with a tap
13.	to cut into (a tree) and draw off sap from it
14.	informal (Brit) to ask or beg (someone) for money: he tapped me for a fiver
15.	a. to connect a tap to (a telephone or telegraph wire)
	b. to listen in secret to (a telephone message, etc) by means of a tap
16.	to make a connection to (a pipe, drain, etc)
17.	to cut a female screw thread in (an object or material) by use of a tap
18.	to withdraw (fluid) from (a bodily cavity)
19.	informal (of a sports team or an employer) to make an illicit attempt to recruit (a player or employee bound by an existing contract)

[Old English tæppa; related to Old Norse tappi tap, Old High German zapfo]

'tappable²

—*adj*

tap³ (tæp)

—n, —vb
	a Scot word for top

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

tap

"strike lightly," early 13c., from O.Fr. taper "tap, rap, strike," from a Gallo-Romance or Germanic source ultimately imitative of the sound of rapping. Meaning "to designate for some duty or for membership" is recorded from 1952, from notion of a tap on the shoulder. The noun is attested from c.1300.

Tap dancer first recorded 1927, from tap (n.) in the sense of "metal plate over the heel of a shoe" (1680s).

tap

"stopper, faucet," O.E. tæppa, from P.Gmc. *tappon (cf. M.Du. tappe, Du. tap, O.H.G. zapfo, Ger. zapfen). Originally a tapering cylindrical peg (hence taproot). Meaning "device to listen in secretly on telephone calls" is from 1923, from the verb in this sense, originally (1869) with reference

to telegraph wires. Phrase on tap "ready for use" is recorded from late 15c. The verb meaning "to supply with a tap" is from O.E. tæppian. Extended sense of "make use of" is first recorded 1570s. Tap-room is from 1807. Tapped out "broke" is 1940s slang, perhaps from the notion of having tapped all one's acquaintances for loans already (cf. British slang on the tap "begging, making requests for loans," 1932).

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

tap (tāp)
n.
The removal of fluid from a body cavity. v. tapped, tap·ping, taps

To withdraw fluid from a body cavity, as with a trocar and cannula, hollow needle, or catheter.
To strike lightly with the finger or a hammerlike instrument, as in percussion or to elicit a tendon reflex.

Slang Dictionary

on tap definition

mod.
having to do with beer sold from a barrel or keg. : Do you have any imported beers on tap here?
mod.
immediately available. : I have just the kind of person you're talking about on tap.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

tap (so) (for (sth)) definition

tv.
to select someone for some purpose or position. : The committee tapped John to run for Congress.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

American Heritage

Abbreviations & Acronyms

TAP

take a picture
Technical Assistance Program
Trans-Alaskan Pipeline

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

on tap

Available for immediate use, ready, as in We have two more trumpeters on tap for the parade. This metaphoric expression alludes to a beverage such as beer that is ready to be drawn from a cask. [Mid-1800s]

Matching Quote

"The women of this century are neither idle nor indifferent. They are working with might and main to mitigate the evils which stare them in the face on every side, but much of their work is without knowledge. It is aimed at the effects, not the cause; it is plucking the spoiled fruit; it is lopping off the poisonous branches of the deadly upas tree, which but makes the root more vigorous in sending out new shoots in every direction. A right understanding of physiological law teaches us that the cause must be removed; the tree must be girdled; the tap-root must be severed. The tap-root of our social upas lies deep down at the very foundations of society. It is woman's dependence. It is woman's subjection. Hence, the first and only efficient work must be to emancipate woman from her enslavement."

-Susan B. Anthony

Enjoy Dictionary.com ad-free! Learn more