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
Campbell Geeslin 
Examples of tap dance in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Blame a Viking After winning the Miami Grand Prix, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri emerged from the car and moved his body in a way that looked sort of like a tap dance.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 6 May 2025
My rhetorical tap dance would have amused him, and laughing was one of his preferred pastimes.
—Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 May 2025
Stewart’s spirited show-closer also roped in a three-man bagpipe team, adding a bit more pizzazz to a performance that also spun through a Vegas-worthy tap dance break and a double fiddle and marching band drum solo.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
The show, which features a splashy ensemble cast, opens with a large tap dance routine that almost stood in the way of Rogers getting the role — her first dance audition fell flat.
—Kristen Tauer, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for tap dance
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David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 6 May 2025
My rhetorical tap dance would have amused him, and laughing was one of his preferred pastimes.
—Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 May 2025
Stewart’s spirited show-closer also roped in a three-man bagpipe team, adding a bit more pizzazz to a performance that also spun through a Vegas-worthy tap dance break and a double fiddle and marching band drum solo.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
The show, which features a splashy ensemble cast, opens with a large tap dance routine that almost stood in the way of Rogers getting the role — her first dance audition fell flat.
—Kristen Tauer, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for tap dance
Cite this Entry
“Tap dance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tap%20dance. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
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