I. tap 1 S3 /tæp/ BrE AmE noun
[ Sense 1, 3, 5, 6: Language: Old English ; Origin: tæppa ]
[ Sense 2, 4, 7: Date: 1300-1400 ; Origin: ⇨ ↑ tap 2 ]
1 . WATER/GAS [countable] especially British English a piece of equipment for controlling the flow of water, gas etc from a pipe or container SYN 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
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 1)
■ verbs
▪ 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.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + tap
▪ 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 + NOUN
▪ tap water (=water that comes out of a tap)
In the test, people preferred tap water to bottled mineral waters.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ adjectives
▪ 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.
■ verbs
▪ give something/somebody a tap
She gave the dog a gentle tap with her umbrella.
II. tap 2 BrE AmE 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.