tap dance

noun

1
: a step dance tapped out audibly by means of shoes with hard soles or soles and heels to which taps have been added
2
: something suggesting a tap dance
especially : an action or discourse intended to rationalize or distract
does a clever tap dance to explain Campbell Geeslin
tap-dance intransitive verb
tap dancer noun
tap dancing noun

Examples of tap dance in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Sometimes, a fantastic team makes a discovery that helps push your own process forward, and sometimes, a former colleague (and, in Amelia’s case, mentor) uses it to tap dance all over your nerves. Laura Bradley, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2025 The dancer, who worked on projects all over the U.K., even showed Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton Du Beke — an extremely high-level ballroom dancer — some tap dance moves. Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 25 Mar. 2025 In the wake of Trump’s comments, and in the lead-up to Greenland’s election, Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, has been engaged in a diplomatic tap dance to insure a common front with Naalakkersuisut, the government in Nuuk. Louise Bokkenheuser, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2025 Piven tap dances through the WWII drama, adapted from the short story of the same name by Arthur Miller. Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 13 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for tap dance

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of tap dance was in 1928

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Cite this Entry

“Tap dance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tap%20dance. Accessed 10 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

tap dance

noun
: a dance tapped out loudly by means of shoes to which taps have been added
tap-dance verb
tap dancer noun
tap dancing noun

More from Merriam-Webster on tap dance

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