as in to drum
to strike or cause to strike lightly and usually rhythmically
tapped her foot in time to the music kept tapping the desk with his pencil
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in to drain
to remove (liquid) gradually or completely
the oil company tapped that first well completely dry
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tap
Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2025
Maguire tapped his connection to team president Cyril Leeder, who alongside fellow Senators co-founder Randy Sexton once sold Maguire a season ticket pledge in the hopes of eventually luring an NHL franchise to the Canadian capital city.
—Julian McKenzie, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 9 Apr. 2025
Also on tap are the final seasons of Andor, The Handmaid’s Tale and YOU.
—Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 31 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tap
Verb
In 2021, as the last Local 2 contract expired, her administration tapped Fitch to study optimizing CFD deployment by reducing firetruck staffing in order to beef up ambulance crews without driving up costs, according to the source familiar with the report.
—Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2025
Maguire tapped his connection to team president Cyril Leeder, who alongside fellow Senators co-founder Randy Sexton once sold Maguire a season ticket pledge in the hopes of eventually luring an NHL franchise to the Canadian capital city.
—Julian McKenzie, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
Noun
About 44 percent of Utahans received fluoridated water through their taps under that status quo.
—Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 9 Apr. 2025
Also on tap are the final seasons of Andor, The Handmaid’s Tale and YOU.
—Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 31 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tap
Cite this Entry
“Tap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tap. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share