tap

1. To furnish (a container, etc.) with a tap (noun etymology 1, noun sense 2.2) so that liquid can be drawn. (transitive)
2. To draw off (a liquid) from a container or other source; also, to draw off a liquid from (a container or other source). (transitive) · He tapped the ten-year-old whiskey from its barrel.· If we tap the maple trees, we can get maple syrup.
3. To drain off fluid from (a person or a body cavity) by paracentesis. (informal, transitive)
4. To break into or open up (a thing) so as to obtain something; to exploit, to penetrate; tap into. (figuratively, transitive) · Businesses are trying to tap the youth market.· He tried to tap cable television without a subscription.
5. To deplete (something); to tap out. (figuratively, transitive)
6. To ask or beg for (something) to be given for free; to cadge, to scrounge; also, to ask or beg (someone) to give something for free. (figuratively, informal, transitive) · I tried to tap a cigarette off him, but he wouldn’t give me one.
7. To connect a listening and/or recording device to (a communication cable or device) in order to listen in secretly on telephone calls or other communications; also, to secretly listen in on and/or record (a telephone call or other communication). (figuratively, transitive) · They can’t tap the phone without a warrant.
8. To turn over (a playing card or playing piece) to remind players that it has already been used in that round. (figuratively, transitive)

Plural tap · He/she/it taps · Past tapped · Past participle tapped · -ing form tapping