to tap the screen
- phrasal verb
- /tæp ðə skriːn/
- Just tap the screen to document an event.
Examples
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Tap the screen and let us walk you through each recipe's technique and texture.
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To move, tap the screen on the left or right side.
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I have my phone on silence so that I can tap the screen without making noise to find things like that.
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Whichever player is holding the GamePad has a different take on the game; they can add platforms by tapping the screen.
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Tap the screen and check out pre-recorded testimonials from Coca-Cola fans around the world.
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Bing does not provide voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation, only directions that can be announced if you tap the screen.
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When you get that call and you can't or don't want to pick up, just tap the screen call button and your phone will answer for you and ask who's calling and why.
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To zoom in on the image, just tap the screen with your finger.
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During the presentation, the speaker instructed the audience to tap the screen to advance the slides.
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If you want to select the app, simply tap the screen where the app icon appears.
How Hard
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to touch a touchscreen lightly' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'tap' (to touch lightly) with 'screen' (a display); the definite article does not alter the compositional meaning. This is a literal physical action verb + object construction that is cross-linguistically common and readily inferable by a B1 learner who knows the constituents.
Etymology
Tap the screen comes from the simple action of touching a device with a quick, light touch: you tap the flat screen with your finger, like knocking once. So it means 'to touch a touchscreen lightly to select or activate something'.