as in drummed
to strike or cause to strike lightly and usually rhythmically
tapped her foot in time to the music kept tapping the desk with his pencil
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in drained
to remove (liquid) gradually or completely
the oil company tapped that first well completely dry
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tapped
Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2026
Trump tapped into that sentiment again in his Telegraph interview, denigrating the Royal Navy as not up to the task.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 1 Apr. 2026
The ditch that would usually move water from the nearby Illinois River to his property is also dry — tapped already by neighbors with more senior water rights than his.
—ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026
The American Army’s phone lines were tapped by the Germans, who were able to learn the location and supplies of the Allied Forces.
—Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Apr. 2026
According to an arrest affidavit, in 2024 Ford and Henry tapped into surveillance cameras and discussed the footage among themselves after Ford suspected his wife, a reserve deputy and training coordinator, was cheating on him with a Kissimmee police lieutenant.
—Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 31 Mar. 2026
For the Artemis program, aiming to bring humans back to the moon for the first time in a half-century and prepare for eventually landing people on Mars, NASA tapped the center to help execute two critical tests of the abort system in the 2010s.
—Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2026
Murphy was tapped for the award last November and is recognized following the likes of Francis Ford Coppola, Nicole Kidman, and Julie Andrews.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 31 Mar. 2026
Other towns have tapped into state financing to address water issues.
—Karl Schneider, IndyStar, 31 Mar. 2026
Verb
And across these two games, England managed just one goal, when Ben White tapped in on Friday.
—Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2026
Trump tapped into that sentiment again in his Telegraph interview, denigrating the Royal Navy as not up to the task.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 1 Apr. 2026
The ditch that would usually move water from the nearby Illinois River to his property is also dry — tapped already by neighbors with more senior water rights than his.
—ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026
The American Army’s phone lines were tapped by the Germans, who were able to learn the location and supplies of the Allied Forces.
—Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Apr. 2026
According to an arrest affidavit, in 2024 Ford and Henry tapped into surveillance cameras and discussed the footage among themselves after Ford suspected his wife, a reserve deputy and training coordinator, was cheating on him with a Kissimmee police lieutenant.
—Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 31 Mar. 2026
For the Artemis program, aiming to bring humans back to the moon for the first time in a half-century and prepare for eventually landing people on Mars, NASA tapped the center to help execute two critical tests of the abort system in the 2010s.
—Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2026
Murphy was tapped for the award last November and is recognized following the likes of Francis Ford Coppola, Nicole Kidman, and Julie Andrews.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 31 Mar. 2026
Other towns have tapped into state financing to address water issues.
—Karl Schneider, IndyStar, 31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tapped.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tapped. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
