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
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as in drained
to remove (liquid) gradually or completely
the oil company tapped that first well completely dry
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Recent Examples of tapped
Avery Newmark, AJC.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Austin Butler and Saoirse Ronan were initially tapped to play the main roles, but both dropped out due to scheduling issues, per Variety.
—Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 29 Jan. 2026
Repurposing waste heat The launch of the system marked the first time that the Large Hadron Collider, better known for smashing protons at near-light speeds, has been tapped as a renewable thermal source.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 29 Jan. 2026
However, during the last four years of chronic deficits, Newsom and legislators have tapped those reserves to cover the gaps, even though there’s been no recession, breaking promises to preserve them.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 29 Jan. 2026
United Airlines and American Family Insurance have also tapped stations in the not-too-distant past.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 29 Jan. 2026
Ringer joined Verve as a talent agent in 2022, after 12 years at ICM, tapped by Head of Talent, Sean Grumman, to play an integral role in building and expanding the Talent Team.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 29 Jan. 2026
Jones has been tapped to emcee the 38th edition of the annual event.
—Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Cignetti has tapped into a distinctly Hoosier brand of team pride, which proves that his acumen is just as strong off the football field as on it.
—Domenica Bongiovanni, IndyStar, 28 Jan. 2026
Verb
It’s paired with an app that physically locks distracting apps unless a phone is tapped back onto it.
—Avery Newmark, AJC.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Austin Butler and Saoirse Ronan were initially tapped to play the main roles, but both dropped out due to scheduling issues, per Variety.
—Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 29 Jan. 2026
Repurposing waste heat The launch of the system marked the first time that the Large Hadron Collider, better known for smashing protons at near-light speeds, has been tapped as a renewable thermal source.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 29 Jan. 2026
However, during the last four years of chronic deficits, Newsom and legislators have tapped those reserves to cover the gaps, even though there’s been no recession, breaking promises to preserve them.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 29 Jan. 2026
United Airlines and American Family Insurance have also tapped stations in the not-too-distant past.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 29 Jan. 2026
Ringer joined Verve as a talent agent in 2022, after 12 years at ICM, tapped by Head of Talent, Sean Grumman, to play an integral role in building and expanding the Talent Team.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 29 Jan. 2026
Jones has been tapped to emcee the 38th edition of the annual event.
—Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Cignetti has tapped into a distinctly Hoosier brand of team pride, which proves that his acumen is just as strong off the football field as on it.
—Domenica Bongiovanni, IndyStar, 28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tapped.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tapped. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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