tapper

¹ American  

[tap-er] / ˈtæp ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that taps or strikes lightly.

2. a telegraph key.

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tapper ² American  

[tap-er] / ˈtæp ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that taps, as trees for the sap or juice, a blast furnace, cask, or other container for their contents, etc.

2. a person who cuts screw threads into the surface of a circular opening, as of a pipe, nut, etc.

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tapper British  

/ ˈtæpə /

noun

1. a person who taps

2. a tool or instrument that taps

3. dialect an unstable and violent person

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Etymology

Origin of tapper¹

First recorded in 1800–10; tap ¹ + -er ¹

Origin of tapper²

before 1000; Old English tæppere (not recorded in ME); see tap ², -er ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tapper

The author notes that Bradley loosened his taps in such a way that they projected “a little brightness,” like those of tapper extraordinaire Honi Coles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026

One by one, they fielded a tapper in front of the mound and threw softly to catching coordinator Randy Knorr, who stood on home plate.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 16, 2023

Veja works with a local cooperative called Cooperacre, which has reenergized the production of a sustainable forest product and improved the lives of hundreds of rubber tapper families.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 19, 2023

Melo, who died in 2001, was a rubber tapper in Acre, in the Brazilian Amazon, and a self-taught artist, writer and musician.

From New York Times ● Sep. 8, 2022

Sometimes a palm wine tapper could be seen climbing in the early evening.

From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah

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