tapped out

adjective

1
: out of money : broke
2
: spent, exhausted
tapped out after months on the road

Examples of tapped out in a Sentence

the prosecutor was mentally and physically tapped out after the long trial
Recent Examples on the Web The first movie tapped out with $86.1 million but became a sleeper hit on home entertainment, while the sequel ended its run with $174.3 million. Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 22 Mar. 2023 For example, the March 12 episode features Graves and three other male survivalists who tapped out -- that is, left early before the 21-day challenge concluded -- in earlier appearances. Kturnqui, oregonlive, 10 Mar. 2023 Nevertheless, many investors fear revenge spending in the aftermath of the pandemic has tapped out the American consumer and could push the economy into recession. Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 9 Mar. 2023 Eventually, that could lead to a point where many Americans’ wallets are tapped out, and overall consumer spending falls. Will Daniel, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2023 Experts said the bleak economic situation has left Iranians all but tapped out after a decade of such challenges. Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2023 To be sure, the fact Trump started his campaign almost two years before the 2024 election and after the midterms, when many donors were tapped out, hurt his numbers, Wilson said. Bill Allison, Bloomberg.com, 1 Feb. 2023 On the bench, teammates stood and tapped out stick salutes on the boards. Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Jan. 2023 Child care centers, where the typical worker makes $13 per hour, cannot easily raise salaries, since many of their customers, working parents, are close to tapped out. Dana Goldstein, New York Times, 16 Dec. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tapped out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of tapped out was in 1950

Dictionary Entries Near tapped out

Cite this Entry

“Tapped out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tapped%20out. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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