tap

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   strike lightly

   They tapped me on the shoulder.

2. 2
   verb

   pierce in order to draw a liquid from

   tap a maple tree for its syrup

3. 3
   verb

   draw (liquor) from a tap

   tap beer in a bar

4. 4
   verb

   dance and make rhythmic clicking sounds by means of metal plates nailed to the sole of the dance shoes

   Glover tapdances better than anybody

5. 5
   verb

   make light, repeated strikes on a surface

   I was tapping my fingers on the table impatiently.

6. 6
   verb

   tap a telephone or telegraph wire to get information

   The FBI was tapping the phone line of the suspected spy

7. 7
   verb

   draw from or dip into to get something

   tap one's memory

8. 8
   verb

   furnish with a tap or spout, so as to be able to draw liquid from it

   tap a cask of wine

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English tappe (“hollow device for controlling the flow of liquid from a hole, cock, faucet, spigot; hole through which the liquid flows; the liquid which thus flows”), from Old English tæppa, from Proto-West Germanic *tappō, from Proto-Germanic *tappô (“a plug, tap; peg; tapering stick”), from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂p- (“to lose; to sacrifice”). Doublet of tapa. The verb is derived from Middle English tappen (“to obtain (liquid, chiefly liquor) from a tap; to obtain and sell (liquor)”), from Old English tæppian (“to provide (a container) with a stopper; to obt…