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# tapping

«tapping» in Mova's school dictionary: **hitting something lightly and quickly, often again and…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 4 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb form (tap, taps, tapped, tapping); noun (a tapping)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Tapping is hitting something lightly and quickly, often again and again, like tapping on a window. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tapping/#m1)

2) Tapping is touching a phone or tablet screen lightly to choose something. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tapping/#m2)

3) Tapping is using a supply of something, like tapping a tree for sap or tapping water. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tapping/#m3)

4) Phone tapping is secretly listening to someone's phone calls. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tapping/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In music lessons, children keep the beat by tapping their feet or hands. In computing, tapping the screen opens apps. In stories, a tapping at the window or door builds suspense. In maths, «tap out» a rhythm to count beats. Phrases: «tapping your feet», «a tapping sound», «tap on the shoulder».

### examples

- Someone was tapping on the window. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tapping/#x1)
- She kept tapping her pencil on the desk. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tapping/#x2)
- We were tapping our feet to the music. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tapping/#x3)
- Tapping the icon opens the game. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tapping/#x4)
- The woodpecker was tapping on the tree. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tapping/#x5)
- He was tapping me on the shoulder to get my attention. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tapping/#x6)
- Farmers in Canada collect maple syrup by tapping trees. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tapping/#x7)
- Stop tapping; it's distracting. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tapping/#x8)
- It was a soft cautious tapping on the door of his tree. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tapping/#x9)

### note

The -ing form of «tap»: double the p (tap → tapped, tapping). Do not confuse with «taping» (sticking with tape), which has one p and a long a. «Tap» is also a noun: a water tap (UK, Australia, NZ, Ireland) is a «faucet» in the USA.

### In the corpora

- [Tapping on glass, shouting and flash photos frighten animals, which cannot leave as easily as visitors can.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/115-why-zoos-exist-and-what-critics-say/16/)
- [Over a hundred years ago a horse called Clever Hans seemed to do sums by tapping his hoof.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/389-how-scientists-test-animal-minds-the-mirror-test-puzzle-boxes-and-clever-hans/2/)
- [Tapping on aquarium glass makes a loud, frightening noise for fish.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/63-guinea-pigs-hamsters-and-fish/17/)
- [Tapping a card or phone spends real money from a bank account, and it can run out.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/260-learning-skills-and-coins/16/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «tapping» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tapping/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.