tap water

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Also see: water

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
tap1

▶noun

• 1 a device by which a flow of liquid or gas from a pipe or container can be controlled.

• 2 an instrument for cutting a threaded hole in a material.

• 3 a device connected to a telephone for listening secretly to conversation.

• 4 (also tapping) Brit. an electrical connection made to some point between the end terminals of a transformer coil or other component.

• 5 Brit. a taproom.

▶verb (taps, tapping, tapped)

• 1 draw liquid through the tap or spout of (a cask, barrel, etc.).

• 2 draw sap from (a tree) by cutting into it.

• 3 exploit or draw a supply from (a resource).

  ■ informal obtain money or information from.

• 4 connect a device to (a telephone) so that conversation can be listened to secretly.

• 5 cut a thread in (something) to accept a screw.

– phrases
on tap

• 1 ready to be poured from a tap.

  ■ informal freely available whenever needed.

• 2 N. Amer. informal on schedule to occur.

– derivatives
tappable adjective.

– origin OE tæppa ‘stopper for a cask’, tæppian ‘provide (a cask) with a stopper’, of Gmc origin.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
tap2

▶verb (taps, tapping, tapped)

• 1 strike or knock with a quick light blow or blows.

  ■ strike lightly and repeatedly against something else: she was tapping her feet.

• 2 (tap someone up) Brit. informal approach (a sports player) illegally with a view to signing them to another club while they are still under contract with their current one.

• 3 N. Amer. informal designate or select for a task or honour.

▶noun

• 1 a quick light blow or the sound of such a blow.

• 2 tap dancing.

  ■ a piece of metal attached to the toe and heel of a tap dancer's shoe to make a tapping sound.

• 3 (taps) [treated as sing. or pl.] US a bugle call for lights to be put out in army quarters.

  ■ a similar call sounded at a military funeral.

  ■ Brit. (in the Guide movement) a closing song sung at an evening camp fire or at the end of a meeting.

– derivatives
tapper noun.

– origin ME: from OFr. taper, or of imitative origin; cf. clap1 and rap1.