5 entries under this word
v. t. [imp. & p. p. TAPPED (täpt); p. pr. & vb. n. TAPPING.] [Fr. taper, to strike, tape, a slap, tap, from Prov. Ger. tapp, tapps, a blow, tappe, a paw, fist; H. Ger. tappen, to grope; O. Fries. tappa, to pluck, pull.]
Sense 1. To strike with something small, or to strike with a very gentle blow; to touch gently; as, to tap one with the hand; to tap one on the shoulder with a cane.
Sense 2. To put a new sole or heel on, as a shoe or boot.
n. [See TAP, to strike.] 1. A gentle blow; a slight blow with a small thing.
She gives her right-hand woman a tap on the shoulder. Addison.
Sense 2. The piece of leather fastened upon the bottom of a boot or shoe in tapping it, or in repairing or renewing the sole or heel.
v. i. To strike a gentle blow; as, he tapped at the door.
v. t. [A-S. täppan, tappian, L. Ger. & D. tappen, Icel. & Sw. tappa, Dan. tappe, N. H. Ger. zapfen.]
n. [A-S. täppa, L. Ger. tappe, D. & Dan. tap, Sw. tapp, Icel. tappi, L. Lat. tappus, O. H. Ger. zapfo, N. H. Ger. zapfen. Cf. TAMPION.] 1. A hole or pipe through which liquor is drawn. 2. A plug or spile for stopping a hole pierced in a cask, or the like. 3. Liquor which is measured out, as through a tap. 4. A place where liquor is drawn for drinking; a tap-room; a bar. 5. (Mech.) A conical screw made of hardened steel, and grooved longitudinally, for cutting threads in nuts, and the like. On tap. (a.) Ready to be drawn; as, ale on tap. (b.) Broached or furnished with a tap; as, a barrel on tap.