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

The woman got up on their table and gleefully pretended to tap dance, drawing an amused crowd of onlookers. — Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 6 Aug. 2026

Back in June 2024, Kelce, 36, did a Dumb and Dumber tap dance onstage during his surprise appearance at Swift’s Eras Tour performance at Wembley Stadium. — Ashlyn Robinette, PEOPLE, 13 July 2026

A lot of people wanted to tap dance. — Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 25 June 2026

Kelli Barclay is Goodspeed’s go-to person for spectacular old-school tap dance showstoppers. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 14 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for tap dance

• advance
• askance
• enhance
• expanse
• finance
• freelance
• mischance
• perchance
• romance
• chance
• glance
• hance

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