Touch vs. Tap — What's the Difference?

Come into or be in contact with

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

Handle in order to interfere with, alter, or otherwise affect

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

Affect or concern

An instrument for cutting a threaded hole in a material.

Produce feelings of affection, gratitude, or sympathy in

A taproom.

Reach (a specified level or amount)

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

Ask someone for (money or some other commodity) as a loan or gift

Tap dancing

Lightly mark in features or other details with a brush or pencil.

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

An act of touching someone or something

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

A small amount; a trace

Exploit or draw a supply from (a resource)

A distinctive manner or method of dealing with something

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

The area beyond the sidelines, out of play

Cut a thread in (something) to accept a screw

An act of asking for and getting a loan or gift from someone

Strike with a quick light blow or blows

A series of changes shorter than a peal.

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

A thing that tests the worth or character of something

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

To cause or permit a part of the body, especially the hand or fingers, to come in contact with so as to feel

To strike gently with a light blow or blows

To bring something into light contact with

To give a light rap with

To bring (one thing) into light contact with something else

To produce with a succession of light blows

To press or push lightly; tap

To select, as for membership in an organization; designate.

To lay hands on in violence

To repair (shoe heels or toes) by applying a thin layer of leather or a substitute material.

To eat or drink; taste

To attach metal plates to (shoe toes or heels).

To disturb or move by handling

To deliver a gentle, light blow or blows.

To meet without going beyond; adjoin

To walk making light clicks.

(Mathematics) To be tangent to.

To tap-dance.

To come up to; reach

To furnish with a spigot or tap.

To match in quality; equal

To pierce in order to draw off liquid

To deal with, especially in passing; treat briefly or allusively

To draw (liquid) from a vessel or container

To have an effect on

(Medicine) To withdraw fluid from (a body cavity).

To affect the emotions of

To make a physical connection with or open outlets from

To injure slightly

To wiretap (a telephone or communications channel).

To color slightly; tinge

To establish an electric connection in (a power line), as to divert current secretly.

To draw with light strokes.

To establish access to or a connection with

To change or improve by adding fine lines or strokes.

To take advantage of; make use of

To stamp (tested metal).

To cut screw threads in (a collar, socket, or other fitting).

(Slang) To wheedle a loan or handout from

(Informal) To ask (a person) for money.

(Archaic) To strike or pluck the keys or strings of (a musical instrument).

A gentle blow.

To play (a musical piece).

The sound made by such a blow.

To touch someone or something.

A thin layer of leather or a substitute applied to a worn-down shoe heel or toe.

To be or come into contact

A metal plate attached to the toe or heel of a shoe, as for tap-dancing.

The act or an instance of touching.

Tap dance.

A light push; a tap

(Linguistics) See flap.

(Sports) An instance of contacting or propelling the ball or puck

A valve and spout used to regulate delivery of a fluid at the end of a pipe.

The physiological sense by which external objects or forces are perceived through contact with the body.

A plug for a bunghole; a spigot.

A sensation experienced in touching something with a characteristic texture

Liquor drawn from a spigot.

A discernible mark or effect left by contact with something.

Liquor of a particular brew, cask, or quality.

A small change or addition, or the effect achieved by it

(Medicine) The removal of fluid from a body cavity

A suggestion, hint, or tinge

A tool for cutting an internal screw thread.

A mild attack

A makeshift terminal in an electric circuit.

A small amount; a dash

A wiretap.

A manner or technique of striking the keys of a keyboard instrument

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

The resistance to pressure characteristic of the keys of a keyboard

A device used to dispense liquids.

An ability to propel a ball a desired distance; control or accuracy

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

A facility; a knack

A place where liquor is drawn for drinking.

A characteristic way of doing things

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

The state of being in contact or communication

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

An official stamp indicating the quality of a metal product.

An interception of communication by authority.

The act of approaching someone for a loan or handout.

A device used to listen in secretly on telephone calls.

A prospect for a loan or handout

A procedure that removes fluid from a body cavity.

The area just outside the sidelines in soccer or just outside and including the sidelines in rugby.

(finance) The situation where a borrowing government authority issues bonds over a period of time, usually at a fixed price, with volumes sold on a particular day dependent on market conditions.

Touch football.

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

Primarily physical senses.

(dance) tap dance

(transitive) To make physical contact with; to bring the hand, finger or other part of the body into contact with.

The act of touching a touch screen.

(transitive) To come into (involuntary) contact with; to meet or intersect.

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

(intransitive) To come into physical contact, or to be in physical contact.

(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.

(intransitive) To make physical contact with a thing.

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

(transitive) To physically disturb; to interfere with, molest, or attempt to harm through contact.

An Indian malarial fever.

(transitive) To make intimate physical contact with a person.

To furnish with taps.

To sexually excite with the fingers; to finger or masturbate.

To draw off liquid from a vessel.

(transitive) To cause to be briefly in contact with something.

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

(transitive) To physically affect in specific ways implied by context.

To exploit.

(transitive) To consume, or otherwise use.

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

(intransitive) Of a ship or its passengers: to land, to make a short stop (at).

To intercept a communication without authority.

To lay hands on (someone suffering from scrofula) as a form of cure, as formerly practised by English and French monarchs.

(mechanical) To cut an internal screw thread.

To fasten; to take effect; to make impression.

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).

(nautical) To bring (a sail) so close to the wind that its weather leech shakes.

(informal) To cadge, borrow or beg.

To be brought, as a sail, so close to the wind that its weather leech shakes.

To drain off fluid by paracentesis.

(nautical) To keep the ship as near (the wind) as possible.

To advance someone for a post or job, or for membership of a club.

Primarily non-physical senses.

To strike lightly.

(transitive) To imbue or endow with a specific quality.

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

To deal with in speech or writing; to mention briefly, to allude to.

To make a sharp noise.

(intransitive) To deal with in speech or writing; briefly to speak or write (on or upon something).

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

(transitive) To concern, to have to do with.

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

(transitive) To affect emotionally; to bring about tender or painful feelings in.

To have sexual intercourse with.

To affect in a negative way, especially only slightly.

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

To give royal assent to by touching it with the sceptre.

To force (an opponent) to submit.

To obtain money from, usually by borrowing (from a friend).

To put a new sole or heel on.

To disturb the mental functions of; to make somewhat insane; often followed with "in the head".

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.

To be on the level of; to approach in excellence or quality.

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

(transitive) To come close to; to approach.

To strike a gentle blow.

To mark (a file or document) as having been modified.

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.

To try; to prove, as with a touchstone.

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.

To mark or delineate with touches; to add a slight stroke to with the pencil or brush.

To draw, or cause to flow, by piercing.

(obsolete) To infect; to affect slightly.

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

To strike; to manipulate; to play on.

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.

To perform, as a tune; to play.

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

To influence by impulse; to impel forcibly.

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

An act of touching, especially with the hand or finger.

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.

The faculty or sense of perception by physical contact.

A hole or pipe through which liquor is drawn.

The style or technique with which one plays a musical instrument.

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

(music) The particular or characteristic mode of action, or the resistance of the keys of an instrument to the fingers.

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

A distinguishing feature or characteristic.

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

A little bit; a small amount.

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.

The part of a sports field beyond the touchlines or goal-lines.

The sound made by a gentle blow

A relationship of close communication or understanding.

A faucet for drawing water from a pipe or cask

The ability to perform a task well; aptitude.

A gentle blow

(obsolete) Act or power of exciting emotion.

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

(obsolete) An emotion or affection.

A tool for cutting female (internal) screw threads

(obsolete) Personal reference or application.

A plug for a bunghole in a cask

A single stroke on a drawing or a picture.

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

(obsolete) A brief essay.

A light touch or stroke

(obsolete) A touchstone; hence, stone of the sort used for touchstone.

Cut a female screw thread with a tap

(obsolete) Examination or trial by some decisive standard; test; proof; tried quality.

Draw from or dip into to get something;

(shipbuilding) The broadest part of a plank worked top and but, or of one worked anchor-stock fashion (that is, tapered from the middle to both ends); also, the angles of the stern timbers at the counters.

Strike lightly;

The children's game of tag.

Draw from; make good use of;

(bell-ringing) A set of changes less than the total possible on seven bells, i.e. less than 5,040.

Tap a telephone or telegraph wire to get information;

(slang) An act of borrowing or stealing something.

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

Tallow.

Make light, repeated taps on a surface;

Form; standard of performance.

Walk with a tapping sound

(Australian rules football) A disposal of the ball during a game, i.e. a kick or a handball.

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

To come in contact with; to hit or strike lightly against; to extend the hand, foot, or the like, so as to reach or rest on.

Draw (liquor) from a tap;

To perceive by the sense of feeling.

Pierce in order to draw a liquid from;

To come to; to reach; to attain to.

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

To try; to prove, as with a touchstone.

To relate to; to concern; to affect.

To handle, speak of, or deal with; to treat of.

To meddle or interfere with; as, I have not touched the books.

To affect the senses or the sensibility of; to move; to melt; to soften; especially, to cause feelings of pity, compassion, sympathy, or gratitude in.

To mark or delineate with touches; to add a slight stroke to with the pencil or brush.

To infect; to affect slightly.

To make an impression on; to have effect upon.

To strike; to manipulate; to play on; as, to touch an instrument of music.

To perform, as a tune; to play.

To influence by impulse; to impel forcibly.

To harm, afflict, or distress.

To affect with insanity, especially in a slight degree; to make partially insane; - rarely used except in the past participle.

To lay a hand upon for curing disease.

To compare with; to be equal to; - usually with a negative; as, he held that for good cheer nothing could touch an open fire.

To induce to give or lend; to borrow from; as, to touch one for a loan; hence, to steal from.

To be in contact; to be in a state of junction, so that no space is between; as, two spheres touch only at points.

To fasten; to take effect; to make impression.

To treat anything in discourse, especially in a slight or casual manner; - often with on or upon.

To be brought, as a sail, so close to the wind that its weather leech shakes.

The act of touching, or the state of being touched; contact.

The sense by which pressure or traction exerted on the skin is recognized; the sense by which the properties of bodies are determined by contact; the tactile sense. See Tactile sense, under Tactile.

Act or power of exciting emotion.

An emotion or affection.

Personal reference or application.

A stroke; as, a touch of raillery; a satiric touch; hence, animadversion; censure; reproof.

A single stroke on a drawing or a picture.

Feature; lineament; trait.

The act of the hand on a musical instrument; bence, in the plural, musical notes.

A small quantity intermixed; a little; a dash.

A hint; a suggestion; slight notice.

A slight and brief essay.

A touchstone; hence, stone of the sort used for touchstone.

Hence, examination or trial by some decisive standard; test; proof; tried quality.

The particular or characteristic mode of action, or the resistance of the keys of an instrument to the fingers; as, a heavy touch, or a light touch; also, the manner of touching, striking, or pressing the keys of a piano; as, a legato touch; a staccato touch.

That part of the field which is beyond the line of flags on either side.

A boys' game; tag.

A set of changes less than the total possible on seven bells, that is, less than 5,040.

An act of borrowing or stealing.

Tallow; - a plumber's term.

The event of something coming in contact with the body;

The faculty of touch;

A suggestion of some quality;

A distinguishing style;

The act of putting two things together with no space between them;

A slight but appreciable addition;

A communicative interaction;

A slight attack of illness;

The act of soliciting money (as a gift or loan);

The sensation produced by pressure receptors in the skin;

Deftness in handling matters;

The feel of mechanical action;

Make physical contact with, come in contact with;

Perceive via the tactile sense;

Affect emotionally;

Have to do with or be relevant to;

Be in direct physical contact with; make contact;

Have an effect upon;

Deal with; usually used with a form of negation;

Cause to be in brief contact with;

To extend as far as;

Be equal to in quality or ability;

Tamper with;

Make a more or less disguised reference to;

Comprehend;

Consume;

Dye with a color