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

ˈtap-ˌdan(t)s 

intransitive verb

tap dancer noun

tap dancing noun

Examples of tap dance in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These and Taylor’s musical offerings — a simply stunning mano-a-mano improvised duet with alto saxophonist Brent Griffin Jr. that finds its way into a swinging groove — are a necessary reminder of tap dance’s roots and branches. —Lauren Warnecke, Chicago Tribune, 15 July 2024

Those dance moves were inspired by Jim Carey’s tap dance in the film Dumb and Dumber, Travis said. —Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 3 July 2024

The whole episode is about the tap dance these characters have to do in order to fund news coverage. —Gerrad Hall, EW.com, 7 June 2024

This production is also buoyed throughout by strong tap dance scenes, especially two solos from Izaiah Montaque Harris as Eddie Ryan. —Christopher Smith, Orange County Register, 30 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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