faucet
Americannoun
noun
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a tap fitted to a barrel
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Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): tap. a valve by which a fluid flow from a pipe can be controlled by opening and closing an orifice
Regionalisms
Spigot is a common variant for faucet and is widely used in the Midland U.S. Elsewhere, faucet is more commonly used, especially in the Northern U.S.
Etymology
Origin of faucet
1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French fausset peg for a vent, perhaps equivalent to fauss ( er ) to force in, damage, warp, literally, to falsify (< Late Latin falsāre; false ) + -et -et
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Even if the strait were to effectively open tomorrow, you can’t turn the faucet back on,” said Angie Gildea, global head of oil and gas at KPMG.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 28, 2026
Unlike a kitchen faucet, an oil tap isn’t easy to turn back on.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026
And you just cannot fight fire with a dripping faucet.
From Slate • Dec. 26, 2025
In the summer, Iranian rapper Vafa Ahmadpoor posted a video on social media showing a kitchen faucet with no running water.
From BBC • Nov. 9, 2025
The water tumbled past him as if from a vast faucet, larger by far than even the spout that poured water into the great white tub his boy bathed in.
From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
