tapas
Americannoun
plural noun
Etymology
Origin of tapas
First recorded in 1930–35; from Sanskrit: “penance,” literally, “heat”; akin to Latin tepēre “to be lukewarm” ( see tepid ( def. ))
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As Navarro and a reporter order tapas dishes for the next two hours, patrons at nearby tables raise their cellphone cameras.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2026
Unlike da Vinci, who was born in Tuscany, our dinner plan—a cicchetti crawl—was unquestionably Venetian, and a chance to sample the city’s bite-sized answers to Spanish tapas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
Three-year-old Madeleine vanished from her family's holiday apartment in Portugal's Praia da Luz in May 2007 while her parents dined at a nearby tapas bar.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2025
I am a master of sitting in a hotel room and finishing some not-even-that-time-sensitive work when I should be out at a tapas bar on a nominal vacation.
From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2025
When we’re ready to rest, we have tapas at one of the cafés on the Plaza de Santa Ana, next to a statue of the poet and playwright Federico García Lorca.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
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