water tap
1
1.0
- noun
- /ˈwɔːtər tæp/
- UK
:
grifo
- When I need to fill my water bottle, I go to the water tap in the kitchen.
- a cold water tap
- a hot water tap
- communal water taps
I bought a clean water tap.
- I bought a clean water tap.
Examples
-
Instead, she turned off the hot water and twisted the cold-water tap completely to the right. Grimacing, she endured the icy blast.
Fiction book (1992) -
On the yard outside the slaughterhouse, I found a water tap.
Fiction book (2002) -
One day I watched as the water tap was turned on.
-
Her hand falls on the hot water tap.
Fiction book (1990) -
She turned on the cold water tap and picked up the soap.
Fiction book (1996) -
Further examination revealed an earth closet close by and a cold-water tap in the garden wall.
Fiction book (1994) -
She threw the dress into the laundry basket and turned on the hot water tap in the bath.
Fiction book (1996) -
They have a cold water tap in the kitchen sink, and there is always hot water in the kettle on the woodstove.
Fiction book (1993) -
Then she took a bottle of apricot brandy into the bathroom and sat in the tub for almost an hour, turning the hot-water tap on and off until the tank was empty.
Fiction book (1991) -
She flung herself off the bed and burst through the bathroom door, wrenching at the cold-water tap in the basin and ducking her head under the icy water.
Fiction book (1996)
Synonyms
76
1.0
A device that controls liquid flow from a pipe or barrel
62
1.0
A thing that controls the flow of water from a pipe
7
5.5
A small tap that controls liquid coming from a container
1
1.0
A device that controls the flow of water from a pipe
How Advanced
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a device for controlling the flow of water' is directly derivable from combining 'water' (the liquid) with 'tap' (a device that controls liquid flow). This noun+noun compounding is a straightforward, cross-linguistically common composition and would be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Water tap comes from the old object called a tap, a small plug or stopper used to let water out of barrels or pipes. Because you push or turn the tap to start or stop the water, water tap means 'a device for controlling the flow of water'.