TAPPING • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Tapping

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/tˈæpɪŋ/ Listen

verb

Tap v. t. (past & past part. tapped; pres. part. tapping)

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.

2.

To put a new sole or heel on; as, to tap shoes.

Tap 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.

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.

3.

To draw, or cause to flow, by piercing. "He has been tapping his liquors."

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.

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.

Tap v. i. To strike a gentle blow.

See images of 'Tapping'

Etymology of 'Tapping'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Tapping" Quotes from Famous Books

... Seaton, tapping his temple with an admonitory forefinger. "'Sright, ace—I thought maybe I'd quit using my head for nothing but a hatrack now, but I guess that's all it's good for, yet. Thanks a lot for the idea—that gives ...

— Skylark Three • Edward Elmer Smith

... and frequency, and I started slowly up the road, uncertain whether I should come upon a young fox or other wild beast, but determined to solve the mystery. As I drew near, I began to be conscious of a knocking sound in the woods beside the road. It was like a light tapping on hollow wood, and it regularly followed each cry. I was at once reassured. It must be a woodpecker, I thought,—they make some strange noises, and there was a large one, the pileated, said to inhabit these ...

— Upon The Tree-Tops • Olive Thorne Miller

... away, Jason turned from the public stereo in the rotunda of Pol-Anx. Tapping the cold bit of his pipe against his teeth as he walked, he sought the ease of his chair. In the privacy of his office he ...

— Zero Data • Charles Saphro

... I said. She looked at me with interest, as if I had contributed importantly to the matter in hand, and resumed tapping her boot with her riding-crop. We talked of indifferent things and had long lapses. At the close of one effort Dora threw herself back with a deep, tumultuous sigh. 'The poverty of this little wretched resort ties up one's tongue!' ...

— The Pool in the Desert • Sara Jeannette Duncan

... apiece, had been to see Amy, and when we went up-stairs (just the girls) to see a new hat a city cousin had sent her, we heard a little tap at the west window. It had been raining, which accounted for our being indoors with the windows lowered, and when we heard the tapping we were so excited we could hardly breathe. It was fearfully thrilly, just like things one reads about in books, and I told the girls to put out the light quick, and when it was out I went to the window and saw ...

— Kitty Canary • Kate Langley Bosher

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