tap dance

noun

1
: a step dance tapped out audibly by means of shoes with hard soles or soles and heels to which taps have been added
2
: something suggesting a tap dance
especially : an action or discourse intended to rationalize or distract
… does a clever tap dance to explain … Campbell Geeslin
tap-dance intransitive verb
tap dancer noun
tap dancing noun

Examples of tap dance in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Wilson learned tap dance and ballet and appeared on Broadway at just 4 years old. Lisa Boone, Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2026 Even if a show tap dances around and tries to cover it up with firework-like acting or production elements, the play will lack spark. Lou Fancher, Mercury News, 27 Jan. 2026 Take a tap dance class or a pottery course; join a book club. Tribune Content Agency, Baltimore Sun, 21 Jan. 2026 The two were invited by Blue Cross to relocate the 30-minute picket — which featured a brief but coordinated step-tap dance number — from a grassy easement. Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 3 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for tap dance

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of tap dance was in 1928

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tap dance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tap%20dance. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.

Kids Definition

tap dance

noun
: a dance tapped out loudly by means of shoes to which taps have been added
tap-dance verb
tap dancer noun
tap dancing noun

More from Merriam-Webster on tap dance

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