tapper

1 of 2

noun (1)

tap·​per ˈta-pər 

plural tappers

1

: one who taps something or produces a tapping sound

a toe tapper

a pencil tapper

A low tap was heard at the room door. Mr. Bob Sawyer looked expressively at his friend, and bade the tapper come in …

—Charles Dickens

2

baseball : a lightly struck ground ball

… fielded a ninth-inning tapper…

—Peter Gammons

… scored the winning run on Tony Batista's weak but effective tapper over the mound.

—Gordon Edes

3

a

: a person who tap dances : tap dancer

The dancing on drums is remarkable, but the show-stealer is something called Sand Dance, which turns out to be just that: lanky tapper Guillem Alonso … steps and shuffles on a thin layer of sand.

—Gordon Cox

b

: tap shoe

… put on his tappers with a sparkling shoehorn …

—Michael Small

tapper

2 of 2

noun (2)

plural tappers

1

: one who extracts a fluid by tapping something

keg tappers

tree tappers

The state of Vermont is packed with maple trees and maple tappers and is famed for its maple syrup.

—Jamie Harrison and Shelley Boris

… set aside large areas of Brazilian rainforest as "extractive reserves," where rubber tappers, nut gatherers, and other local peoples can harvest renewable forest products.

—Environmental Defense Fund

also : something that is tapped to extract fluid

… Japanese maples are excellent tappers.

—Steven R. Lorton

2

: one who connects to something (such as a telephone line or radio signal) to obtain information surreptitiously

The Internet … has provided new frontiers for law enforcement tappers.

—John Schwartz

… hired a tapper to intercept telegraph messages in the Civil War.

—John Schwartz

Examples of tapper in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

For Silva, who was born and raised to a family of rubber tappers in the remote Amazonian state of Acre, this is the next step on a lifelong journey of Amazon protection. —Justin Worland, Time, 9 May 2025

The next batter, Trevor Larnach, hit a little tapper in front of the plate, but when catcher Edgar Quero’s throw hit Larnach in the back, Keaschall kept running, speeding home from second. —Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 22 Apr. 2025

Topa, later in the inning, fielded a slow tapper and sailed a throw well over first baseman Ty France’s outstretched glove. —Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 15 Apr. 2025

Later, however, they were decimated by disease, enslaved by rubber tappers, and forcibly relocated to Jesuit missions. —Nemonte Nenquimo, WIRED, 29 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1810, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for tapper

• capper
• clapper
• dapper
• flapper
• kapur
• mapper
• napper
• rapper
• sapper
• snapper
• trapper
• wrapper