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taps

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taps¹

  • /tæps/ US, UK

Rhymes with -æps

Where it comes from

From tap (noun) + -s. Noun 1 sense 1 (“signal for extinguishing all lights in soldiers’ quarters and retiring to bed”) is from the fact that the signal was originally made using a drum.

noun

  1. plural, plural only 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 signal is sometimes also given during the funeral of a soldier.

noun

  1. plural plural of tap

verb

  1. indicative, present, singular, third person third-person singular simple present indicative of tap

TAPs²

noun

  1. plural plural of TAP

Taps³

Where it comes from

Disputed.

proper noun

  1. A bugle call played by the United States Armed Forces at dusk, during flag ceremonies, and at military funerals.

TAPS⁴

proper noun

  1. abbreviation, acronym Acronym of Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: lights-out, leverage, applause, hose, cuts, tbs, spac, sct, choose, drum, braces, sita, nicks, keys, appoints, chooses

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Cite this
MLA

"taps." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/taps. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

taps. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/taps

Chicago

"taps." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/taps.

BibTeX
@misc{taps_2026,
  title = {taps},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/taps},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}