taps

American  

[taps] / tæps /

noun

(used with a singular or plural verb)

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.

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taps British  

/ tæps /

noun

1. 1. (in army camps, etc) a signal given on a bugle, drum, etc, indicating that lights are to be put out

   2. 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

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Etymology

Origin of taps

1815–25, probably tap(too) , variant of tattoo ¹ + -s ³

Example Sentences

The author notes that Bradley loosened his taps in such a way that they projected “a little brightness,” like those of tapper extraordinaire Honi Coles.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026

While neither of the “Devil Wears Prada” movies revolve around Christianity, the invocation of the devil taps into an older moral rhetoric.

From Salon • May 17, 2026

That’s nearly as much as all the water that flowed from 19 million people’s taps across Southern California last year.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026

For now, ideas are converging around a new human interface that will eventually replace the decades-old graphical approach and feature conversations with Siri supplanting mouse clicks and finger taps.

From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026

A car passes by, and Alex taps the side of his glasses.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas