tap

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Tapped p. pr. & vb. n. Tapping. ] [ F. taper to strike; of Teutonic origin; cf. dial. G. tapp, tapps, a blow, tappe a paw, fist, G. tappen to grope. ] 1. To strike with a slight or gentle blow; to touch gently; to rap lightly; to pat; as, to tap one with the hand or a cane. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To put a new sole or heel on; as, to tap shoes. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To pierce so as to let out, or draw off, a fluid; as, to tap a cask, a tree, a tumor, a keg of beer, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence, to draw resources from (a reservoir) in any analogous way; as, to tap someone's knowledge of the Unix system; to tap the treasury. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To draw, or cause to flow, by piercing. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

He has been tapping his liquors. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Mech.) To form an internal screw in (anything) by means of a tool called a tap; as, to tap a nut, a pipe, or tubing. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. to connect a listening device to (a telephone or telegraph line) secretly, for the purpose of hearing private conversations; also, to obtain or record (information) by tapping; -- a technique used by law enforcement agencies investigating suspected criminals. In the United States it is illegal without a court order permitting it. [ PJC ]

n. [ Cf. F. tape. See Tap to strike. ] 1. A gentle or slight blow; a light rap; a pat. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A piece of leather fastened upon the bottom of a boot or shoe in repairing or renewing the sole or heel. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. pl. (Mil.) A signal, by drum or trumpet, for extinguishing all lights in soldiers' quarters and retiring to bed, -- usually given about a quarter of an hour after tattoo. Wilhelm. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To strike a gentle blow. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. A kind of cloth prepared by the Polynesians from the inner bark of the paper mulberry; -- sometimes called also kapa. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ ‖‖, n. } [ Also tapidero. ] [ Sp. tapadera lid, cover. ] One of the leather hoods which cover the stirrups of a Mexican saddle. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖n. (Zool.) A Mexican spinous lizard (Phrynosoma orbiculare) having a head somewhat like that of a toad; -- called also horned toad. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. tæppe a fillet. Cf. Tapestry, Tippet. ] 1. A narrow fillet or band of cotton or linen; a narrow woven fabric used for strings and the like; as, curtains tied with tape. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A tapeline; also, a metallic ribbon so marked as to serve as a tapeline; as, a steel tape. [ 1913 Webster ]

Red tape. See under Red. --
Tape grass (Bot.), a plant (Vallisneria spiralis) with long ribbonlike leaves, growing in fresh or brackish water; -- called also fresh-water eelgrass, and, in Maryland, wild celery. --
Tape needle. See Bodkin, n., 4. [ 1913 Webster ]