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
Campbell Geeslin 
Examples of tap dance in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The show, which features a splashy ensemble cast, opens with a large tap dance routine that almost stood in the way of Rogers getting the role — her first dance audition fell flat.
—Kristen Tauer, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Sometimes, a fantastic team makes a discovery that helps push your own process forward, and sometimes, a former colleague (and, in Amelia’s case, mentor) uses it to tap dance all over your nerves.
—Laura Bradley, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2025
The dancer, who worked on projects all over the U.K., even showed Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton Du Beke — an extremely high-level ballroom dancer — some tap dance moves.
—Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 25 Mar. 2025
In the wake of Trump’s comments, and in the lead-up to Greenland’s election, Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, has been engaged in a diplomatic tap dance to insure a common front with Naalakkersuisut, the government in Nuuk.
—Louise Bokkenheuser, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tap dance
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Kristen Tauer, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Sometimes, a fantastic team makes a discovery that helps push your own process forward, and sometimes, a former colleague (and, in Amelia’s case, mentor) uses it to tap dance all over your nerves.
—Laura Bradley, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2025
The dancer, who worked on projects all over the U.K., even showed Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton Du Beke — an extremely high-level ballroom dancer — some tap dance moves.
—Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 25 Mar. 2025
In the wake of Trump’s comments, and in the lead-up to Greenland’s election, Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, has been engaged in a diplomatic tap dance to insure a common front with Naalakkersuisut, the government in Nuuk.
—Louise Bokkenheuser, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tap dance
Cite this Entry
“Tap dance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tap%20dance. Accessed 27 May. 2025.
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