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taps

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taps

  [taps] ,
–noun (used with a singular or plural verb) Military.
a signal by bugle or drum, sounded at night as an order to extinguish all lights, and sometimes performed as a postlude to a military funeral.
Use taps in a Sentence
Origin:
1815–25, Americanism; prob. tap(too), var. of tattoo 1 + -s 3
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tap

1  [tap] ,verb, tapped, tap⋅ping, noun
–verb (used with object)
1. to strike with a light but audible blow or blows; hit with repeated, slight blows: He tapped the door twice.
2. to make, put, etc., by tapping: to tap a nail into a wall.
3. to strike (the fingers, a foot, a pencil, etc.) upon or against something, esp. with repeated light blows: Stop tapping your feet!
4. Basketball. to strike (a ball in the air) in the direction of a teammate or of the basket.
5. to enter information or produce copy by tapping on a keyboard: to tap data into a computer; to tap out a magazine article.
6. to add a thickness of leather to the sole or heel of (a boot or shoe), as in repairing.
–verb (used without object)
7. to strike lightly but audibly, as to attract attention.
8. to strike light blows.
9. to tap-dance.
–noun
10. a light but audible blow: a tap on the shoulder.
11. the sound made by this.
12. a piece of metal attached to the toe or heel of a shoe, as for reinforcement or for making the tapping of a dancer more audible.
13. Basketball. an act or instance of tapping the ball: Hanson got the tap from our center, who, 6prime;9″ tall, couldn't lose a jump ball.
14. a thickness of leather added to the sole or heel of a boot or shoe, as in repairing.
Origin:
1175–1225; (v.) ME tappen, var. of early ME teppen, prob. imit.; (n.) ME, deriv. of the v.

Related forms:
tap⋅pa⋅ble, adjective

tap

2  [tap] ,noun, verb, tapped, tap⋅ping.
–noun
1. a cylindrical stick, long plug, or stopper for closing an opening through which liquid is drawn, as in a cask; spigot.
2. a faucet or cock.
3. the liquor drawn through a particular tap.
4. British. a taphouse or taproom.
5. a tool for cutting screw threads into the cylindrical surface of a round opening.
6. Surgery. the withdrawal of fluid: spinal tap.
7. a hole made in tapping, as one in a pipe to furnish connection for a branch pipe.
8. Electricity. a connection brought out of a winding at some point between its extremities, for controlling the voltage ratio.
9. 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.).
—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.
—Idiom
21. on tap,
a. ready to be drawn and served, as liquor from a cask.
b. furnished with a tap or cock, as a barrel containing liquor.
c. Informal. ready for immediate use; available: There are numerous other projects on tap.
Origin:
bef. 1050; (n.) ME tappe, OE tæppa; c. D tap, OHG zapfo, ON tappi; (v.) ME tappen, OE tæppian; c. MLG, MD tappen, G zapfen, ON tappa

Related forms:
tap⋅pa⋅ble, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To taps
tap 1   (tāp)   
v.   tapped, tap·ping, taps

v.   tr.

  1. To strike gently with a light blow or blows: I tapped you on the shoulder to get your attention.

  2. To give a light rap with: tap a pencil.

  3. To produce with a succession of light blows: tap out a rhythm.

  4. To select, as for membership in an organization; designate. See Synonyms at appoint.

    1. To repair (shoe heels or toes) by applying a thin layer of leather or a substitute material.

    2. To attach metal plates to (shoe toes or heels).

v.   intr.

  1. To deliver a gentle, light blow or blows.

  2. To walk making light clicks.

n.  

    1. A gentle blow.

    2. The sound made by such a blow.

    3. A thin layer of leather or a substitute applied to a worn-down shoe heel or toe.

    4. A metal plate attached to the toe or heel of a shoe, as for tap-dancing.

    1. A thin layer of leather or a substitute applied to a worn-down shoe heel or toe.

    2. A metal plate attached to the toe or heel of a shoe, as for tap-dancing.

  3. Linguistics See flap.


[Middle English tappen, possibly from Old French taper.]
tap 2   (tāp)   
n.  

  1. A valve and spout used to regulate delivery of a fluid at the end of a pipe.

  2. A plug for a bunghole; a spigot.

    1. Liquor drawn from a spigot.

    2. Liquor of a particular brew, cask, or quality.

  4. Medicine The removal of fluid from a body cavity: a spinal tap.

  5. A tool for cutting an internal screw thread.

  6. A makeshift terminal in an electric circuit.

  7. A wiretap.

tr.v.   tapped, tap·ping, taps

  1. To furnish with a spigot or tap.

  2. To pierce in order to draw off liquid: tap a maple tree.

  3. To draw (liquid) from a vessel or container: tap a new keg of beer.

  4. Medicine To withdraw fluid from (a body cavity).

  5. To make a physical connection with or open outlets from: tap a water main.

    1. To wiretap (a telephone).

    2. To establish an electric connection in (a power line), as to divert current secretly.

  7. To establish access to or a connection with: tapped a new market for inexpensive books.

  8. To take advantage of; make use of: tapped voter anger to win the election.

  9. To cut screw threads in (a collar, socket, or other fitting).

  10. Informal To ask (a person) for money.

Phrasal Verb(s):
tap into

  1. To establish a connection with; have access to: tapped into a new market for their products.

  2. To take advantage of: tapped into their enthusiasm to improve the school.


Idiom(s):
on tap

  1. Ready to be drawn; in a tapped cask: beer on tap.

  2. Available for immediate use; ready: extra personnel on tap.


[Middle English tappe, from Old English tæppa.]
taps   (tāps)   
pl.n.   (used with a sing. or pl. verb)
A bugle call or drum signal sounded at night, as at a military camp, as an order to put out lights and also sounded at military funerals and memorial services.

[Perhaps alteration of taptoo, tattoo, variant of tattoo1.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
tap (so) (for (sth))

  1. 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
Word Origin & History

tap  (n.)
"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, 1601). Meaning "device to listen in secretly on telephone calls" is from 1923, from the verb in this sense, originally (1869) with ref. to telegraph wires. Phrase on tap "ready for use" is recorded from 1483. The verb meaning "to supply with a tap" is from O.E. tæppian. Extended sense of "make use of" is first recorded 1575. 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).

taps 
U.S. military signal for lights out in soldiers' quarters (played 15 minutes after tattoo), 1824, from tap (v.), on the notion of drum taps (it originally was played on a drum, later on a bugle). As a soldier's last farewell, played over his grave, it may date to the American Civil War. The tune was revised several times in mid-19c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 4tap
Function: noun
: a light usually audible blow; also : its sound
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source

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

  1. To withdraw fluid from a body cavity, as with a trocar and cannula, hollow needle, or catheter.

  2. To strike lightly with the finger or a hammerlike instrument, as in percussion or to elicit a tendon reflex.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
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