TRB

Noun

tap (plural taps)

1. A conical peg or pin used to close and open the hole or vent in a container.

   Synonyms:

   spigot, spile

2. (broadly) An object with a tapering conical form like a tap (etymology 1, noun sense 1); specifically, ellipsis of taproot (“long, tapering root of a plant”).
3. (broadly) A hollow device used to control the flow of a fluid, such as an alcoholic beverage from a cask, or a gas or liquid in a pipe.
   • We don’t have bottled water; you’ll have to get it from the tap.

   Synonyms:

   cock, faucet, handle, spigot, spout, stopcock

   1. (broadly, informal) A procedure that removes fluid from a body cavity; paracentesis.
      • abdominal tap pleural tap spinal tap
4. (broadly) Liquor drawn through a tap (etymology 1, noun sense 2.2); hence, a certain kind or quality of liquor; also (figurative, informal), a certain kind or quality of any thing.
   • a liquor of the same tap
5. (broadly) A device used to listen in secretly on telephone calls or other communications.

See all 50 meanings of tap