Probably earlier than 1925–30
First recorded in 1925–30
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There’s even a subset of manosphere influencers who are doing this tap dance with Islam.
From Salon ● May 4, 2026
Arriving on stage in a sparkly tuxedo dress, she rearranged her hits Espresso and Please Please Please in a jazzy big band style, and even delivered a fleet-footed tap dance sequence.
From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2025
This season, we make sure to give special mention to a medal, a tap dance — and women who spend all of their screen time staring at men.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2025
“I stopped when I retired, and I didn’t miss it. And now all of the sudden I have to go back to doing this little tap dance to please people.”
From New York Times ● Jun. 16, 2023
“But why the sudden interest in tap dance, Zara?”
From "Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun" by Hena Khan
It’s usually a defense attorney who has to tap-dance around, not the government.
From Slate ● Nov. 24, 2025
On Monday morning, Michele shared a video of her practicing the musical’s tap-dance numbers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2022
The show’s only nomination at last month’s Tony Awards was for Jared Grimes’s role as Brice’s friend, Eddie Ryan, a tap-dance extraordinaire who aids Brice’s rise in show business.
From New York Times ● Jul. 11, 2022
It takes two to tango, but thus far it’s been a Canucks tap-dance all over the Kraken, who’ve yet to score more than two goals in any of the three games.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 21, 2022
In my headworld, they jump on Principal Principal’s desk and perform a tap-dance routine.
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
I tap-danced for a lot of people, and we finally got our budget.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 2, 2025
She appeared onstage in children’s acting, singing and dancing ensembles and tap-danced on radio.
From New York Times ● Jan. 31, 2024
“His Capote is wickedly funny, a sly imp ready to deliver an off-color joke about the Queen Mum, zing Robert Goulet or rhapsodize about the time he tap-danced for Louis Armstrong. …,”
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 21, 2022
He performed in cabaret shows too, and even tap-danced in one that showcased black talent and launched the career of Josephine Baker.
From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2021
He panted and licked his lips and tap-danced in the snow.
From "The Honest Truth" by Dan Gemeinhart
It's the only song that really leans into the showgirl concept, with a percussive tap-dancing interlude and ostentatious key changes, as the stars trade lines about their cut-throat industry.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2025
Maurice and Gregory Hines achieved early fame as perhaps the last of the great tap-dancing duos to emerge from the classic age of tap.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 2, 2024
Francis still appears to be tap-dancing a bit in his first public comments confirming a Wright exemption.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 12, 2023
Marx’s tap-dancing prowess would land her a job in a private Florida club owned by famed showman Florenz Ziegfeld.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 21, 2022
As the jury members straggled in, they were not clowning around or tap-dancing on the stage as jurors usually did.
From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli
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.
