taps
noun
Form of tap , plural of tap.
Simple meaning
Signal to turn the lights out.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
tapsIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈtæps
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
military
Signal to turn the lights out
military
A signal, by drum or trumpet, for extinguishing all lights in soldiers' quarters and retiring to bed, usually given about a quarter of an hour after tattoo; the signal is sometimes also given during the funeral of a soldier.
A bugle call played by the United States Armed Forces at dusk, during flag ceremonies, and at military funerals.
Acronym of Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Signal to turn the lights out
Used this way, taps is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a military use: it belongs to service and operational language.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Military
- Historical writing
- News/reporting
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use taps
- “At dusk, the bugler played taps to honor the fallen soldiers.”noun
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.