Tab vs. Tap

Tabnoun

A small flap or strip of material attached to something, for holding, manipulation, identification, etc.

Tapnoun

A tapering cylindrical pin or peg used to stop the vent in a cask; a spigot.

Tabnoun

(slang) An ear.

Tapnoun

A device used to dispense liquids.

‘We don't have bottled water; you'll have to get it from the tap.’;

Tabnoun

A navigational widget, resembling a physical tab, for switching between documents or sets of controls.

Tapnoun

Liquor drawn through a tap; hence, a certain kind or quality of liquor.

‘a liquor of the same tap’;

Tabnoun

(GUI) The page or form associated with such a navigational widget.

‘How many tabs are open in your Web browser?’;

Tapnoun

A place where liquor is drawn for drinking; a taproom; a bar.

Tabnoun

(informal) A tablet, especially one containing illicit drugs.

Tapnoun

(mechanics) A device used to cut an internal screw thread. (External screw threads are cut with a die.)

‘We drilled a hole and then cut the threads with the proper tap to match the valve's thread.’;

Tabnoun

A fast march or run with full kit.

Tapnoun

A connection made to an electrical or fluid conductor without breaking it.

‘The system was barely keeping pressure due to all of the ill-advised taps along its length.’;

Tabnoun

A restaurant bill.

Tapnoun

An interception of communication by authority.

Tabnoun

Credit account, e.g., in a shop or bar; slate

‘Put this round on my tab, will you, barman.’;

Tapnoun

A device used to listen in secretly on telephone calls.

Tabnoun

(computing) A space character that extends to the next aligned column, traditionally used for tabulation.

Tapnoun

A procedure that removes fluid from a body cavity; paracentesis.

‘abdominal tap, pleural tap, spinal tap’;

Tabnoun

cigarette.

‘Giv'is a tab man!’;

Tapnoun

A gentle or slight blow; a light rap; a pat.

‘When Steve felt a tap on his shoulder, he turned around.’;

Tabnoun

A form of musical notation indicating fingering rather than the pitch of notes, commonly used for stringed instruments.

Tapnoun

tap dance

Tabnoun

(British slang) A student of Cambridge University.

Tapnoun

(computing) The act of touching a touch screen.

Tabnoun

(colloquial) A tabloid newspaper.

Tapnoun

A piece of leather fastened upon the bottom of a boot or shoe in repairing or renewing the sole or heel; a heeltap.

Tabverb

To affix with tabs; to label.

Tapnoun

(military) 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.

Tabverb

(computing) To use the Tab key on a computer to advance the cursor or move the input focus, or on a typewriter to advance the carriage.

Tapnoun

(phonetics) A consonant sound made by a single muscle contraction, such as the sound [ɾ] in the standard American English pronunciation of body.

Tabnoun

The flap or latchet of a shoe fastened with a string or a buckle.

Tapnoun

An Indian malarial fever.

Tabnoun

A tag. See Tag, 2.

Tapverb

To furnish with taps.

‘If we tap the maple trees, we can get maple syrup!’;

Tabnoun

A loop for pulling or lifting something.

Tapverb

To draw off liquid from a vessel.

‘He tapped a new barrel of beer.’;

Tabnoun

A border of lace or other material, worn on the inner front edge of ladies' bonnets.

Tapverb

To deplete, especially of a liquid via a tap; to tap out.

Tabnoun

A loose pendent part of a lady's garment; esp., one of a series of pendent squares forming an edge or border.

Tapverb

To exploit.

‘Businesses are trying to tap the youth market.’;

Tabnoun

a small projecting piece of a file folder, file card, or similar sheet used in a filing system, on which a notation is written to permit convenient search for the folder, card, etc.

Tapverb

To place a listening or recording device on a telephone or wired connection.

‘They can't tap the phone without a warrant.’;

Tabnoun

a bill or check for some purchase, as in a restaurant; as, the salesman will pick up the tab.

Tapverb

To intercept a communication without authority.

‘He was known to tap cable television’;

Tabnoun

a key on a typewriter or computer keyboard which advances the carriage or curser to the next (preset) tab position; - used especially to type or print text or numbers in columns.

Tapverb

(mechanical) To cut an internal screw thread.

‘Tap an M3 thread all the way through the hole.’;

Tabnoun

the bill in a restaurant;

‘he asked the waiter for the check’;

Tapverb

To turn or flip a card or playing piece to remind players that it has already been used that turn (by analogy to "tapping," in the sense of drawing on to the point of temporary exhaustion, the resources or abilities represented by the card).

Tabnoun

sensationalist journalism

Tapverb

(informal) To cadge, borrow or beg.

‘I tried to tap a cigarette off him, but he wouldn't give me one.’;

Tabnoun

the key on an electric typewriter that causes a tabulation

Tapverb

To drain off fluid by paracentesis.

Tabnoun

a short strip of material attached to or projecting from something in order to facilitate opening or identifying or handling it;

‘pull the tab to open the can’; ‘files with a red tab will be stored separately’; ‘the collar has a tab with a button hole’;

Tapverb

To strike lightly.

Tabnoun

a dose of medicine in the form of a small pellet

Tapverb

To touch one's finger, foot, or other body parts on a surface (usually) repeatedly.

‘He was so nervous he began to tap his fingers on the table.’; ‘She tapped her companion on the back to indicate that she was ready to go.’; ‘Lydia tapped Jim on the shoulder to get his attention.’;

Tabnoun

a small flap or strip of material attached to or projecting from something, used to hold, fasten, or manipulate it, or for identification and information.

Tapverb

To make a sharp noise.

‘The tree, swaying in the breeze, began to tap on the window pane.’;

Tabnoun

a marking on the collar distinguishing an officer of high rank or (formerly) a staff officer.

Tapverb

To operate an electronic device (e.g. a mobile phone) by tapping a specific place on its (capacitive or other) touch screen.

Tabnoun

a strip or ring of metal attached to the top of a canned drink and pulled to open the can.

Tapverb

To designate for some duty or for membership, as in 'a tap on the shoulder'.

Tabnoun

a second or further document or page that can be opened on a spreadsheet or web browser.

Tapverb

To have sexual intercourse with.

‘I would tap that hot girl over there.’; ‘I'd tap that.’;

Tabnoun

a restaurant bill

‘the waiter brought three drinks and a new tab’;

Tapverb

(combat sports) To submit to an opponent by tapping one's hand repeatedly.

Tabnoun

a tally of items ordered in a bar or restaurant

‘Bobby had told the barman to put everything on the tab’;

Tapverb

To force (an opponent) to submit.

Tabnoun

short for tableau curtains

Tapverb

To put a new sole or heel on.

‘to tap shoes’;

Tabnoun

a part of a control surface, typically hinged, that modifies the action or response of the surface.

Tapverb

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.

Tabnoun

a cigarette.

Tapverb

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

Tabnoun

a facility in a word-processing program, or a device on a keyboard, for advancing to a sequence of set positions in tabular work

‘the tab key’;

Tapverb

To strike a gentle blow.

Tabnoun

a tablet, especially one containing an illicit drug

‘he faced charges of attempting to export Ecstasy tabs’;

Tapverb

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.

Tabnoun

a tabloid newspaper

‘she tries to cover up his peccadillos before they make the tabs' front pages’;

Tapverb

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.

Tabnoun

short for tablature

‘get tips on learning how to read guitar tab’;

Tapverb

To draw, or cause to flow, by piercing.

‘He has been tapping his liquors.’;

Tabverb

mark or identify with a projecting piece of material

‘he opened the book at a page tabbed by a cloth bookmark’;

Tapverb

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

Tabverb

identify as being of a specified type or suitable for a specified position

‘he was tabbed by the President as the next Republican National Committee chairman’;

Tapverb

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.

Tabverb

use the tab key on a computer or typewriter keyboard

‘the user can tab to the phrase and press Enter’;

Tapnoun

A gentle or slight blow; a light rap; a pat.

Tabverb

short for tabulate

Tapnoun

A piece of leather fastened upon the bottom of a boot or shoe in repairing or renewing the sole or heel.

Tapnoun

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.

Tapnoun

A hole or pipe through which liquor is drawn.

Tapnoun

A plug or spile for stopping a hole pierced in a cask, or the like; a faucet.

Tapnoun

Liquor drawn through a tap; hence, a certain kind or quality of liquor; as, a liquor of the same tap.

Tapnoun

A place where liquor is drawn for drinking; a taproom; a bar.

Tapnoun

A tool for forming an internal screw, as in a nut, consisting of a hardened steel male screw grooved longitudinally so as to have cutting edges.

Tapnoun

the sound made by a gentle blow

Tapnoun

a faucet for drawing water from a pipe or cask

Tapnoun

a gentle blow

Tapnoun

a small metal plate that attaches to the toe or heel of a shoe (as in tap dancing)

Tapnoun

a tool for cutting female (internal) screw threads

Tapnoun

a plug for a bunghole in a cask

Tapnoun

the act of tapping a telephone or telegraph line to get information

Tapnoun

a light touch or stroke

Tapverb

cut a female screw thread with a tap

Tapverb

draw from or dip into to get something;

‘tap one's memory’; ‘tap a source of money’;

Tapverb

strike lightly;

‘He tapped me on the shoulder’;

Tapverb

draw from; make good use of;

‘we must exploit the resources we are given wisely’;

Tapverb

tap a telephone or telegraph wire to get information;

‘The FBI was tapping the phone line of the suspected spy’; ‘Is this hotel room bugged?’;

Tapverb

furnish with a tap or spout, so as to be able to draw liquid from it;

‘tap a cask of wine’;

Tapverb

make light, repeated taps on a surface;

‘he was tapping his fingers on the table impatiently’;

Tapverb

walk with a tapping sound

Tapverb

dance and make rhythmic clicking sounds by means of metal plates nailed to the sole of the dance shoes;

‘Glover tapdances better than anybody’;

Tapverb

draw (liquor) from a tap;

‘tap beer in a bar’;

Tapverb

pierce in order to draw a liquid from;

‘tap a maple tree for its syrup’; ‘tap a keg of beer’;

Tapverb

make a solicitation or entreaty for something; request urgently or persistently;

‘Henry IV solicited the Pope for a divorce’; ‘My neighbor keeps soliciting money for different charities’;

Tapnoun

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

‘she turned the cold tap on’; ‘the air-supply tap’;

Tapnoun

an electrical connection made to some point between the end terminals of a transformer coil or other component.

Tapnoun

a device connected to a telephone for listening secretly to someone's conversations

‘those taps produced hundreds of hours of recordings’;

Tapnoun

an act of listening secretly to someone's telephone conversation.

Tapnoun

an instrument for cutting a threaded hole in a material.

Tapnoun

a taproom.

Tapnoun

a quick light blow, or the sound of such a blow

‘there was a sharp tap at the door’;

Tapnoun

tap dancing

‘a rhythm much used in tap’;

Tapnoun

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

Tapnoun

a bugle call for lights to be put out in army quarters

‘the bugler played taps’;

Tapnoun

a bugle call sounded at a military funeral.

Tapnoun

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

Tapverb

draw liquid through the tap or spout of (a cask, barrel, or other container)

‘several barrels had been tapped to celebrate old victories’;

Tapverb

draw (liquid) from a cask, barrel, or other container

‘in the cellars of the monasteries the butlers were tapping new and old ale’;

Tapverb

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

Tapverb

exploit or draw a supply from (a resource)

‘clients from industry seeking to tap Edinburgh's resources of expertise’; ‘these magazines have tapped into a target market of consumers’;

Tapverb

obtain money or information from (someone)

‘he considered whom he could tap for information’;

Tapverb

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

‘the telephones were tapped by the state security police’;

Tapverb

cut a thread in (something) to accept a screw

‘on most vices, the metal jaws are drilled and tapped to accept screws’;

Tapverb

strike with a quick light blow or blows

‘one of my staff tapped me on the shoulder’;

Tapverb

strike (something) against something else with a quick light blow or blows

‘Gloria was tapping her feet in time to the music’;

Tapverb

produce (a rhythm) with a series of quick light blows on a surface

‘drums that tapped out a rumba beat’;

Tapverb

write or enter (something) using a keyboard or keypad

‘he tapped out a few words on the keyboard’;

Tapverb

approach (a sports player) unlawfully with a view to signing them to another club while they are still under contract with their current one.

Tapverb

designate or select (someone) for a task or honour, especially membership of an organization or committee

‘he had been tapped earlier to serve in Costa Rica’;