taps
Noun
- (military) signal to turn the lights out
- the sound made by a gentle blow
- a gentle blow
- a faucet for drawing water from a pipe or cask
- a small metal plate that attaches to the toe or heel of a shoe (as in tap dancing)
- a tool for cutting female (internal) screw threads
- a plug for a bunghole in a cask
- the act of tapping a telephone or telegraph line to get information
- a light touch or stroke
- A signal, by drum or trumpet, for extinguishing all lights in soldiers' quarters and retiring to bed, usually given about a quarter of an hour after tattoo; the signal is sometimes also given during the funeral of a soldier.
- plural of tap
Verb
- cut a female screw thread with a tap
- draw from or dip into to get something
- strike lightly
- draw from; make good use of
- tap a telephone or telegraph wire to get information
- furnish with a tap or spout, so as to be able to draw liquid from it
- make light, repeated taps on a surface
- walk with a tapping sound
- dance and make rhythmic clicking sounds by means of metal plates nailed to the sole of the dance shoes
- draw (liquor) from a tap
- pierce in order to draw a liquid from
- make a solicitation or entreaty for something; request urgently or persistently
- third-person singular simple present indicative of tap
Origin / Etymology
From tap (noun) + -s. Sense 1 (“signal for extinguishing all lights in soldiers’ quarters and retiring to bed”) is from the fact that the signal was originally made using a drum.
Synonyms
beg, bug, dab, exploit, hydrant, intercept, knock, lights-out, pat, pink, rap, solicit, spigot, strike, tap, tapdance, tip, water faucet, water tap, wiretap
Scrabble Score: 6
taps: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordtaps: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
taps: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary