tap
[verb]
Synonyms:
- knock, beat, drum, pat, rap, strike, touch
[noun]
Synonyms:
- knock, pat, rap, touch
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[noun]
Synonyms:
- valve, stopcock
- on tap: available, at hand, in reserve, on hand, ready, on draught
[verb]
Synonyms:
- listen in on, bug (informal), eavesdrop on
- draw off, bleed, drain, siphon off

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Related Words: bang, beat, hammer, hit, pound, smite, strike, thud, thump

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English Thesaurus: hit, beat, strike, punch, thump, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. tap¹ S3 /tæp/ noun
[Sense 1, 3, 5, 6: Language: Old English; Origin: tæppa]
[Sense 2, 4, 7: Date: 1300-1400; Origin: ⇒ tap²]

1. WATER/GAS [countable] especially British English a piece of equipment for controlling the flow of water, gas etc from a pipe or container Synonym : faucet American English:
Tap water (=water that comes out of a tap) is usually heavily treated with chemicals.
She went into the bathroom and turned on the taps.
kitchen/bath/garden tap
I washed my hands under the kitchen tap.
cold/hot tap (=the tap that cold or hot water comes from)

2. A LIGHT HIT [countable] an act of hitting something lightly, especially to get someone’s attention
tap at/on
She felt a tap on her shoulder.
There was a tap at the door.

3. on tap
a) beer that is on tap comes from a barrel
b) informal something that is on tap is ready to use when you need it:
We’ve got all the information on tap.

4. DANCING [uncountable] (also tap dancing) dancing in which you wear special shoes with pieces of metal on the bottom which make a loud sharp sound on the floor

5. TELEPHONE [countable] an act of secretly listening to someone’s telephone, using electronic equipment:
The police had put a tap on his phone line.

6. BARREL [countable] a specially shaped object used for letting liquid out of a barrel, especially beer

7. TUNE taps [plural] a song or tune played on the bugle at night in an army camp, and at military funerals

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. tap² verb (past tense and past participle tapped, present participle tapping)
[Sense 1-2, 8-10: Date: 1100-1200; Language: Old French; Origin: taper 'to hit with the flat part of the hand']
[Sense 3-7: Language: Old English; Origin: tæppian]

1. HIT LIGHTLY [intransitive and transitive] to hit your fingers lightly on something, for example to get someone’s attention
tap somebody on the shoulder/arm/chest etc
He turned as someone tapped him on the shoulder.
tap on
I went up and tapped on the window.
tap something on/against/from etc something
Mark tapped his fingers on the tabletop impatiently.
She tapped ash from her cigarette.

2. MUSIC [transitive] to make a regular pattern of sounds with your fingers or feet, especially when you are listening to music:
She tapped her feet in time to the music.
a toe-tapping tune

3. ENERGY/MONEY [transitive] (also tap into) to use or take what is needed from something such as an energy supply or an amount of money:
People are tapping into the power supply illegally.
We hope that additional sources of funding can be tapped.

4. IDEAS [transitive] (also tap into) to make as much use as possible of the ideas, experience, knowledge etc that a group of people has:
Your adviser’s experience is there to be tapped.
helping people tap into training opportunities

5. TELEPHONE [transitive] to listen secretly to someone’s telephone by using a special piece of electronic equipment:
Murray’s phone calls to Australia were tapped.

6. TREE [transitive] to get liquid from the trunk of a tree by making a hole in it

7. PLAYER [transitive] (also tap up) British English informal if a football club taps a player from another team, it illegally tries to persuade that player to join its team
tap something ↔ in (also tap something into something) phrasal verb British English
to put information, numbers etc into a computer, telephone etc by pressing buttons or keys:
Tap in your password before you log on.
tap something ↔ out phrasal verb

1. to hit something lightly, especially with your fingers or foot, in order to make a pattern of sounds:
He whistled the tune and tapped out the rhythm.

2. to write something with a computer:
Brian tapped out a name on his small electronic organizer.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

tap
noun
I. for water, gas, etc.
ADJ. hot, hot-water | cold, cold-water | mixer | dripping, running the sound of a dripping tap
leaky | bath, bathroom, kitchen
VERB + TAP turn (off/on) Turn the tap clockwise.
run You have to run the tap a long time before the hot water comes.
TAP + VERB drip, run Someone has left the tap running.
leak
TAP + NOUN water | washer
PREP. on ~ The pub has two sorts of beer on tap (= in a barrel with a tap on it). (figurative) We have this sort of information on tap (= available to be used at any time).

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

tap
II. quick gentle blow; the sound it makes
ADJ. gentle, light, little | sharp
VERB + TAP give sb/sth
PREP. ~ at There was a little tap at the door.
~ on He gave her a tap on the shoulder.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

tap
verb
ADV. gently, lightly She tapped her fingers gently on the table.
away She tapped away at her keyboard.
PREP. against, at, on, with She tapped the ice with a stick.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

tap

turn on a tap
Run some cold water into the bath before turning on the hot tap.
turn off a tap
I forgot to turn the tap off.
run a tap (=make water flow out of it)
She stood at the sink, running the tap to get a glass of cold water.
a tap is running (=water is flowing out of it)
I think you must have left the tap running.
a tap is dripping (=drops of water are coming out of it)
If the tap is dripping, change the washer.
the cold/hot tap
She scrubbed her hands under the cold tap.
the kitchen/bath/garden tap
The water coming out of the kitchen tap had an odd smell.
a mixer tap British English (=one through which cold and hot water can run together)
He fitted a mixer tap to the bath.
a running tap
Wash the cut under a running tap.
a dripping tap
I could hear a dripping tap.
a leaking/leaky tap (=with drops of water coming from the end )
The leaky tap had left a stain in the washbasin.
tap water (=water that comes out of a tap)
In the test, people preferred tap water to bottled mineral waters.
a gentle/light/soft tap
There was a gentle tap on the door.
a sharp tap
A few sharp taps with a hammer will force the nail through the surface.
give something/somebody a tap
She gave the dog a gentle tap with her umbrella.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

hit to hit someone quickly and hard with your hand, a stick etc:
He hit him hard in the stomach.
I don’t like to see people hitting a dog.
beat to hit someone deliberately many times, especially very hard:
The girl had been beaten to death.
He was beating the donkey with a stick.
strike written to hit someone with your hand or a weapon. Strike is more formal than hit and is mainly used in written English:
Her husband struck her twice across the face.
Police say that the man had been struck on the head.
punch to hit someone hard with your closed hand, especially in a fight:
I punched him on the nose.
She was screaming and punching him with her fists.
thump /θʌmp/ informal to punch someone very hard:
Sometimes I just want to thump him.
beat somebody up to hurt someone badly in a violent attack, by hitting them many times:
If I tell the police, they'll beat me up.
He had been beaten up and tortured with lighted cigarettes.
slap to hit someone with your open hand, especially because you are angry with them:
They had a big row and she ended up slapping him.
spank (also smack especially British English) to hit someone, especially a child, with your open hand in order to punish them:
Should a parent ever smack a child?
I don’t agree with smacking.
In those days, children were spanked if they behaved badly.
knock to hit a door or window with your closed hand in order to attract the attention of the people inside:
Someone was knocking on the door.
I knocked loudly but no one came.
whack /wæk/ informal to hit something very hard:
Edmonds whacked the ball into the air.
bash to hit something hard, especially in a way that causes damage:
The police had to bash the door down to get in.
tap to gently hit something with your fingers, often in order to attract someone’s attention:
I tapped him on the shoulder.
I heard someone tapping on the window.
rap to knock quickly or hit something several times:
He rapped the table with his pen to bring the meeting to order.
Two police officers rapped on the door at 7 o'clock in the morning.
bang to suddenly hit something hard, in a way that makes a loud noise:
Her father banged his fist down on the table angrily.
The door suddenly banged shut.
pound written to hit something many times with a lot of force:
I could hear the sea pounding on the rocks.
She pounded on the door and shouted wildly.
hammer written to hit something quickly many times making a loud continuous noise:
The rain was hammering on the roof.
A crowd of people were outside hammering on the door angrily.
bump to hit a part of your body against something, especially because you do not see or notice it:
Careful you don’t bump your head – the ceiling’s very low.
bang/bash to hit something hard, so that you hurt yourself or damage something:
He banged into the car in front.
I bashed my knee climbing over a gate.
She fell and bashed her chin on the ground.
stub to hit your toe against something and hurt it:
I stubbed my toe on the piano leg.
bestseller a book that a lot of people buy:
His prize-winning book ‘A Year in Provence’ became an international bestseller.
blockbuster a film that a lot of people watch, especially an exciting film:
a Hollywood blockbuster
a blockbuster movie
sell-out a concert, sports event etc which so many people want to see that all the tickets are sold:
The concert was a sell-out.
the band’s sell-out tour of the US
cult movie/band/figure etc a film, band, person etc that has become very popular and fashionable with a particular group of people:
a cult TV programme
craze something that suddenly becomes popular, so that a lot of people do it, buy it etc:
the latest dance craze that has been sweeping the US
the craze for ultra expensive designer jeans
fad informal something that is very popular for a short time – used about something that you disapprove of, which you do not think will last for very long:
Most diets are just fads.
I think it’s a passing fad.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

hit:
Jack hit the ball and it flew over the fence
knock to hit a door or window with your closed hand in order to attract the attention of the people inside:
Someone was knocking on the door.
I knocked loudly but no one came.
strike written to hit a surface. Strike is more formal than hit and is mainly used in written English:
The ball struck the side of the goal.
whack /wæk/ informal to hit something very hard:
Edmonds whacked the ball into the air.
bash to hit something hard, especially in a way that causes damage:
The police had to bash the door down to get in.
tap to gently hit something with your fingers, often in order to attract someone’s attention:
I tapped him on the shoulder.
I heard someone tapping on the window.
rap to knock quickly or hit something several times:
He rapped the table with his pen to bring the meeting to order.
Two police officers rapped on the door at 7 o'clock in the morning.
bang to suddenly hit something hard, in a way that makes a loud noise:
Her father banged his fist down on the table angrily.
The door suddenly banged shut.
pound written to hit something many times with a lot of force:
I could hear the sea pounding on the rocks.
She pounded on the door and shouted wildly.
hammer written to hit something quickly many times making a loud continuous noise:
The rain was hammering on the roof.
A crowd of people were outside hammering on the door angrily.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

listen to pay attention to what someone is saying or to a sound that you hear:
I didn’t hear the answer, because I wasn’t listening when she read it out.
He listened carefully to every word I said.
pay attention to listen carefully to what someone is saying:
I nodded to show I was paying attention.
She was tired and wasn’t paying attention to what he was saying.
eavesdrop to secretly listen to someone else’s conversation by standing near them, hiding behind a door etc:
I caught him eavesdropping on our conversation.
They spoke in quiet voices which made it hard to eavesdrop.
overhear to hear someone say something, especially accidentally:
I overheard him say something about wanting to move house.
Excuse me! I couldn’t help overhearing that you were planning a trip to Thailand.
tune in (to something) to listen to a radio programme, or to someone using a radio transmitter:
Over a million people tune in to the programme each week.
Tune in at the same time next week for the next episode.
The equipment could be used by criminals to tune in to police broadcasts.
tap to connect a piece of electronic recording equipment to a telephone system so that you can listen to people’s telephone conversations:
The police had tapped the phones of all three suspects.
The President had to resign over an illegal phone-tapping operation.
bug to hide a small piece of electronic recording equipment in someone’s room, car, office etc in order to listen secretly to what is said there:
Security agents bugged their offices and managed to get some evidence against them.
Wells was convinced the house was bugged and insisted on playing loud music while we talked.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

TAP
Trade Assistance and Planning Office

[TahlilGaran] Acronyms and Abbreviations Dictionary ▲