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to tap

to tap

62 8.2
To secretly listen to someone's phone calls
  • verb
  • /tæp/
translation icon : pinchar (una línea telefónica)
  • Eddie, your phone is tapped.

Knowing that this this woman walked up, like, grabbed her phone, like, yeah, tapping someone else's phone.

Examples

  • None of the phones is tapped there at the box.

    Academic text (2007)
  • They learned that the police had a legal right to tap conversations if they had a warrant.

  • - We'll tap your phone.

  • Because they can tap a phone doesn't mean they do or will.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • They probably tapped her phone.

  • My room's been searched, my phone's tapped.

  • Just like you could not open somebody's mail, you couldn't tap their line unless you have a court order.

    Academic text (1994)
  • He knew his phone was tapped, he was followed everywhere, his trash picked through.

  • The investigators were able to tap the suspect's phone for useful evidence.

  • In order to gather more information, the agency decided to tap multiple phone lines.

Synonyms

to intercept
vsto tap
65 7.3

To secretly listen to phone calls or messages to get information

focuses on the specific method of attaching a device to the wire
to eavesdrop
vsto tap
23 5.0

To secretly listen to other people's private conversations without them knowing

requires connecting a device to wires to capture telephone or telegraph communications
to wiretap
vsto tap
5 7.5

To secretly listen to someone's phone calls

is the general act of connecting equipment to a wire to listen secretly

Antonyms

161 3.5

To separate something so it is no longer joined, for example remove a cable or turn off power

Idioms

7 3.4

Drinks like beer or water served from a tap

5 3.7

Ready to use when needed

Phrasal Verbs

to double tap
  • Texting
3 3.5

Tap twice quickly on a touchscreen to start a function

1 4.4

To touch something lightly with fingers or an object to make a rhythm

Touch the screen lightly with your finger to choose or open something

to tap out
  • Texting
1 5.3

To type a short message by pressing keys or the screen quickly

to tap the keg
  • Informal
1 6.1

To start pouring beer from a keg by attaching something that lets beer flow

Compounds

27 1.0

Water that comes from a tap used for drinking or cooking

14 2.7

A light touch or knock to get someone's attention

spinal tap
  • Specialized
9 5.8

To remove fluid from the lower back with a needle for testing

5 3.0

A dance where shoes with metal plates make a rhythm when the feet hit the floor

5 3.5

A person who makes music by hitting the floor with metal plates on their shoes while moving their feet

4 3.0

A dance where the feet make tapping sounds using shoes with metal plates

1 1.0

A thing that controls the flow of water from a pipe

8.3

A tap that sprays water for washing after using the toilet

A small tool that pours champagne from a bottle into glasses

A dance where dancers make rhythmic sounds by hitting the floor with metal plates on their shoes

tap wrench
  • Specialized
7.3

A tool that holds and turns a tap to cut screw threads inside a hole

4.3

A bar that sells beer, often from its own brewery

tap-off
  • Jargon
7.4

The jump ball that starts a basketball game

How Invasive

wiretap
33 7.5
to tap
62 8.2
to eavesdrop
23 5.0
to listen in
  • Informal
57 5.0

Surface Forms

tap infinitive
tapped past
tapped past participle
tapping present participle
taps third person singular

Etymology

Tap meaning 'to listen secretly' comes from the idea of connecting into a line to take something out, like drawing from a pipe, so to tap a phone is to connect and listen in.