tapa

¹ American  

[tah-pah] / ˈtɑ pɑ /

noun

1. Usually tapas (especially in Spain) a snack or appetizer, typically served with wine or beer.

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tapa ² American  

[tah-puh, tap-uh] / ˈtɑ pə, ˈtæp ə /

noun

1. the bark of the paper mulberry.

2. Also called tapa cloth.  a cloth of the Pacific Islands made by pounding the bark of the paper mulberry, or similar barks, flat and thin: used for clothing and floor covering.

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tapa British  

/ ˈtɑːpə /

noun

1. the inner bark of the paper mulberry

2. a paper-like cloth made from this in the Pacific islands

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Etymology

Origin of tapa¹

< Spanish: literally, cover, lid (probably < Germanic; see tap ²)

Origin of tapa²

Borrowed into English from Polynesian around 1815–25

Example Sentences

First, the bOOmVeja tapa, only here in Basque country, they’re called pintxos.

From Salon • Nov. 8, 2025

Some “have one drink and a tapa and take a photo in the bathroom and leave,” Bruce said.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 31, 2022

Sharing a meal over fragrant plates of tapa and sisig at L.A.

From Los Angeles Times • May 2, 2022

Companions and I had fun waiting to find out which of the glossy shishito peppers in another tapa would detonate on the tongue.

From Washington Post • Feb. 27, 2020

So goes a famous Pashtun tapa, a couplet my grandmother taught me.

From "Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Changed the World" by Malala Yousafzai