taps

[ taps ]
See synonyms for taps on Thesaurus.com
noun(used with a singular or plural verb)Military.
  1. 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.

Origin of taps

1
1815–25, Americanism; probably tap(too), variant of tattoo1 + -s3

Words Nearby taps

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How to use taps in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for taps

taps

/ (tæps) /


noun(functioning as singular)
  1. 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

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

Origin of taps

1
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