tap dance
noun
a dance in which the rhythm or rhythmical variation is audibly tapped out with the toe or heel by a dancer wearing shoes with special hard soles or with taps.
tap dance
1 Americannoun
-
tap dances
plural
tap-dance
2
American
[tap-dans, -dahns]
/ ˈtæpˌdæns, -ˌdɑns /
verb (used without object)
tap-danced,
tap-dancing
tap dance
British
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of tap dance1
Probably earlier than 1925–30
Origin of tap-dance2
First recorded in 1925–30
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.
See Examples For:
In the early decades of Hollywood musicals, ballet had been at most a secondary art, especially compared to the prevalence of tap dance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
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
The 21-year-old from Chula Vista who came one round short of advancing to the knockout stages grew up in jazz and tap dance, but the disciplines got expensive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2024
My tap dance lessons ended over a year ago, and I’m not sure how much I’ll remember.
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
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
The 2019 documentary “Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back” catches the tap-dance legend reflecting on his life, career and relationship with his brother, Tony winner Gregory Hines.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2022
On Monday the Joyce Theater said it would not be able to go ahead with Ayodele Casel’s tap-dance work “Chasing Magic,” which had been scheduled to open on Tuesday.
From New York Times ● Jan. 3, 2022
“Whenever an engine malfunctions, I like to tap-dance around it. Works every time.”
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
“I had an aunt who tap-danced and whistled through her teeth — that’s the closest I came,” she says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2024
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
Tributes have been paid after the death of one of the lead dancers in a tap-dancing comedy troupe whose routines delighted TV audiences nationwide.
From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2023
Francis still appears to be tap-dancing a bit in his first public comments confirming a Wright exemption.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 12, 2023
Because it was the mispronunciation of that surname that would inspire the nickname of the great tap-dancing Richmond native Bill “Bojangles” Robinson.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 4, 2023
Soon enough, he was taking tap-dancing lessons in between Little League games and working Saturdays with his dad.
From New York Times ● Oct. 17, 2022
The “game” was to make the banana shoes burp-squeak out a tune by hopping, skipping, and tap-dancing the notes.
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
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.
