taps

[ taps ]

/ tæps /

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noun (used with a singular or plural verb)Military.

a signal by bugle or drum, sounded at night as an order to extinguish all lights, and sometimes performed as a postlude to a military funeral.

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Origin of taps

1815–25, Americanism; probably tap(too), variant of tattoo¹ + -s³

Words nearby taps

tapping, tapping up, tappit-hen, taproom, taproot, taps, tapsal-teerie, tapster, tapu, tap water, taqiyah

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use taps in a sentence

Twin buglers played “Taps” and three police helicopters flew overhead in the missing-man formation.
Funeral Protest Is Too Much for NYPD Union Boss|Michael Daly|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Tosi has been using cereal milk as a flavor ever since 2007, and she says it taps into a universal “memory sensor.”
Cereal Cafe’s Big Bowl of Hate|David Levesley|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
More than 15,000 households have had their taps turned off for being past due.
Detroit Shuts Off Water to Residents but Not to Businesses Who Owe Millions|Mary M. Chapman|July 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Likely, The Woodman taps the facilities of a much larger, more-specialized operation like Loyalsock Firewood in Montoursville.
Brooklyn’s Booming Firewood Industry|Dale Eisinger|July 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Those phone taps suggested the pair may have co-opted a judge for insider information.
France’s Ex-Prez Sarkozy Placed Under Formal Investigation for Corruption|Tracy McNicoll|July 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
No notice being taken of the taps, the unseen visitor, after a short lapse, ventured to open the door and peep in.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2(of 2)|Charles Dickens
If a supply was required during the day it could be given by a pipe with two taps.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick
The candle flickered on until "taps," when the guards, with unconscious irony shouted, "Lights out!"
Famous Adventures And Prison Escapes of the Civil War|Various
There was a hubbub around the fire that kept everybody from paying the least attention to "taps."
Si Klegg, Book 2 (of 6)|John McElroy
Fill the vessels with water and lay the corks with their rods upon its surface, and set both taps running together.
The Histories of Polybius, Vol. II (of 2)|Polybius

British Dictionary definitions for taps

taps

/ (tæps) /

noun (functioning as singular)

mainly US

(in army camps, etc) a signal given on a bugle, drum, etc, indicating that lights are to be put out
any similar signal, as at a military funeral

(in the Guide movement) a closing song sung at an evening camp fire or at the end of a meeting

Word Origin for taps

C19: from tap 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

taps

Origin of taps

Words nearby taps

Words related to taps

How to use taps in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for taps

Word Origin for taps