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 pair stood solemnly as a bugler played "Taps," before visiting the adjacent display room of military exhibits and artifacts.

From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026

Appeared in the September 5, 2025, print edition as 'JetBlue Taps Amazon’s Satellite Internet Venture'.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 4, 2025

Taps would still have run and toilets still have flushed.

From BBC • Mar. 10, 2025

Last semester a bugle horn blared "Taps" inside my head after I assigned a review of "Kontemporary Amerikkan Poetry."

From Salon • Sep. 23, 2023

Papa Taps his thumb Against the horn When he sees friends And their families Gathered around barbecues.

From "Neighborhood Odes" by Gary Soto