as in drums
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
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as in drains
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.
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Recent Examples of taps
Alex Kalinauckas, New York Times, 11 May 2026
Some recipes include orange juice and peach preserves, but ours taps pineapple juice for brightness and sweetness.
—Jasmine Smith, Southern Living, 9 May 2026
The jelly tote bag taps that same translucent, glossy finish, but with a more elevated, everyday feel.
—Casey Delbasso, ABC News, 7 May 2026
Highway To Heaven taps into the current popularity of feel-good programming.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 6 May 2026
The line taps into Eastern herbal medicine and smells incredible—a waft of botanicals that stays with you all day.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 May 2026
In addition, the order taps Treasury and the National Economic Council to draft legislative recommendations that could expand the concept further, including by automatically enrolling workers in private-sector IRAs and by making more workers eligible for the Saver’s Match.
—Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 30 Apr. 2026
This taps the wisdom of the group, and an elevated sense of shared purpose is realized.
—Big Think, 29 Apr. 2026
Why this situation matters beyond the settlement This case taps into something bigger than one payout.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 26 Apr. 2026
Spencer Wilson, CBS News, 13 May 2026
It was thought that the aye-aye’s taps served to identify hollow chambers inside wood using acoustic feedback generated by tapping.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 10 May 2026
While America’s oil drillers have started to turn the taps on, executives have warned that inventories are likely to keep falling in the short-term.
—Grant Smith, Fortune, 9 May 2026
The Big 12 taps into private equity for loans, while Duke cuts a streaming deal with Amazon expected to bring millions more to the Blue Devils.
—ABC News, 8 May 2026
Calling for the accountability of the war crimes that have been committed through our military action against Venezuela and Iran, specifically regarding double taps and the bombing of Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' elementary school.
—Kevin Fixler
may 3, Idaho Statesman, 3 May 2026
Trump taps into racist sentiments by depicting the Obamas as apes.
—Gary Franks, Hartford Courant, 26 Apr. 2026
No nurse had been responsible for the procedures involved in this care, including intubation, chest tubes, umbilical central lines, lumbar punctures, ventricular taps, and more.
—Dawn Zuidgeest-Craft, STAT, 24 Apr. 2026
The silhouette taps into that current vintage sneaker trend without feeling too trendy.
—Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 21 Apr. 2026
Verb
Completes his own 360 spin, but taps the wall with his left-front, damaging his car’s left steering arm.
—Alex Kalinauckas, New York Times, 11 May 2026
Some recipes include orange juice and peach preserves, but ours taps pineapple juice for brightness and sweetness.
—Jasmine Smith, Southern Living, 9 May 2026
The jelly tote bag taps that same translucent, glossy finish, but with a more elevated, everyday feel.
—Casey Delbasso, ABC News, 7 May 2026
Highway To Heaven taps into the current popularity of feel-good programming.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 6 May 2026
The line taps into Eastern herbal medicine and smells incredible—a waft of botanicals that stays with you all day.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 May 2026
In addition, the order taps Treasury and the National Economic Council to draft legislative recommendations that could expand the concept further, including by automatically enrolling workers in private-sector IRAs and by making more workers eligible for the Saver’s Match.
—Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 30 Apr. 2026
This taps the wisdom of the group, and an elevated sense of shared purpose is realized.
—Big Think, 29 Apr. 2026
Why this situation matters beyond the settlement This case taps into something bigger than one payout.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 26 Apr. 2026
Noun
The outage impacted around 420 water taps serving roughly 300-350 homes.
—Spencer Wilson, CBS News, 13 May 2026
It was thought that the aye-aye’s taps served to identify hollow chambers inside wood using acoustic feedback generated by tapping.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 10 May 2026
While America’s oil drillers have started to turn the taps on, executives have warned that inventories are likely to keep falling in the short-term.
—Grant Smith, Fortune, 9 May 2026
The Big 12 taps into private equity for loans, while Duke cuts a streaming deal with Amazon expected to bring millions more to the Blue Devils.
—ABC News, 8 May 2026
Calling for the accountability of the war crimes that have been committed through our military action against Venezuela and Iran, specifically regarding double taps and the bombing of Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' elementary school.
—Kevin Fixler
may 3, Idaho Statesman, 3 May 2026
Trump taps into racist sentiments by depicting the Obamas as apes.
—Gary Franks, Hartford Courant, 26 Apr. 2026
No nurse had been responsible for the procedures involved in this care, including intubation, chest tubes, umbilical central lines, lumbar punctures, ventricular taps, and more.
—Dawn Zuidgeest-Craft, STAT, 24 Apr. 2026
The silhouette taps into that current vintage sneaker trend without feeling too trendy.
—Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 21 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for taps
Verb
-
Krieger and Densmore, the two surviving members of The Doors, are the backbone of the video, revisiting the signature guitar and drums parts more than a half-century after they were originally laid to wax.—
Randy McMullen,
Mercury News,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Instead of another room with a priest and young woman growling on the bed, the exorcisms in The Wailing are accompanied by chanting crowds, firepits, and drums beating as a great spectacle is made of the ritual.—
Michael Lee Simpson,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
For phones, there's not much that drains their battery as fast as playing demanding games, and PC games designed for dedicated desktop and laptop hardware are certainly demanding.—
Jon Martindale,
PC Magazine,
7 May 2026
-
Bargain-bin potting mix often drains poorly or contains few nutrients to begin with.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Miami Herald,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The technology could enable the creation of reconfigurable grippers for delicate multi-object manipulation and temperature-tunable valves for fluid control.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
1 May 2026
-
Sea water flowing into the tanks is controlled with inlet valves and will vary based on the needs of the experiment.—
Staff Report,
Hartford Courant,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Teal'c takes out some frustrations on an unlucky grunt who bangs him with a door at the start of every time loop, and O'Neill gets to (temporarily) sample the will-they side of his will-they-won't-they relationship with Carter.—
Daryl Baxter,
Space.com,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Another bangs his head against the wall after expressing suicidal thoughts.—
Morgan Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The life-support device − which pumps blood through an artificial lung, providing it with oxygen and returning it to the body − is hoped to relieve enough pressure on the lungs and heart to give them some time to recover, the reports add.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
13 May 2026
-
Queen Camilla returned to her bespoke Eliot Zed pumps in soft black suede with a black leather toe cap, after wearing the same pair just days earlier at the Badminton Horse Trials.—
Maggie Clancy,
Footwear News,
11 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Taps.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/taps. Accessed 16 May. 2026.
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