{
    "term": "tap",
    "partOfSpeech": "verb",
    "ox5000": true,
    "cefr": "b2",
    "verbForms": {
        "presentSimple": {
            "iYouWeThey": "tap",
            "heSheIt": "taps"
        },
        "pastSimple": "tapped",
        "pastParticiple": "tapped",
        "ingForm": "tapping"
    },
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "to hit somebody/something quickly and lightly",
            "sensetop": "tap (away) (at something)tap somebody/something",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Someone tapped at the door.",
                    "contextForm": "tap (away) (at something)"
                },
                {
                    "text": "He was busy tapping away at his computer."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Ralph tapped me on the shoulder.",
                    "contextForm": "tap somebody/something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Tap the icon to open the app."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He tapped home his second goal from close range."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She tapped the ice with a stick."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["gently", "lightly", "impatiently"],
                "preposition": ["against", "at", "on"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "if you tap your fingers, feet, etc. or they tap, you hit them gently against a table, the floor, etc., for example to the rhythm of music",
            "sensetop": "tap (something)",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He kept tapping his fingers on the table."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The music set everyone's feet tapping."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["gently", "lightly", "impatiently"],
                "preposition": ["against", "at", "on"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "to make use of a source of energy, knowledge, etc. that already exists",
            "sensetop": "tap somethingtap into something",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "We need to tap the expertise of the people we already have.",
                    "contextForm": "tap something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The movie seems to tap into a general sentimentality about animals.",
                    "contextForm": "tap into something"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "to fit a device to a phone so that somebody’s calls can be listened to secretly",
            "sensetop": "tap something",
            "labels": "(especially British English)",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He was convinced his phone was being tapped."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 5,
            "definition": "to cut into a tree in order to get liquid from it",
            "sensetop": "tap something",
            "examples": []
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 6,
            "definition": "to choose somebody to do a particular job",
            "sensetop": "tap somebody",
            "labels": "(North American English)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Richards has been tapped to replace the retiring chairperson."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 7,
            "definition": "to produce a tap (6)",
            "sensetop": "tap something",
            "labels": "(phonetics)",
            "examples": [],
            "synonyms": "flap"
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/tæp/",
                "audio": "ta/tap/tap__gb_2.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/tæps/",
                "audio": "ta/tap/taps__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/tæpt/",
                "audio": "ta/tap/tapped__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈtæpɪŋ/",
                "audio": "ta/tap/tapping__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/tæp/",
                "audio": "ta/tap/tap__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/tæps/",
                "audio": "ta/tap/taps__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/tæpt/",
                "audio": "ta/tap/tapped__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈtæpɪŋ/",
                "audio": "ta/tap/tapping__us_2.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "verb senses 1 to 2 and verb sense 6 Middle English: from Old French taper, or of imitative origin; compare with the verb clap and rap. verb senses 3 to 5 Old English tæppa ‘peg for the vent-hole of a cask’, tæppian ‘provide (a cask) with a stopper’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch tap and German, Zapfen (nouns)."
}