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Meaning & use

foot tapping

noun, adjective·Everyday

Last updated

UK/ˈfʊt tæpɪŋ/
US/ˈfʊt tæpɪŋ/

Meanings

  1. noununcountable

    The act of hitting the ground lightly and repeatedly with your foot, often to a beat.

    Grammar: Used as a noun, it usually takes no article: 'foot tapping kept time'.

    Patterns

    • a bit of foot tapping
    • keep time by foot tapping

    Her foot tapping kept time with the music.

    The teacher told him to stop his constant foot tapping.

    A little foot tapping is normal when a song is catchy.

  2. adjectivebefore a noun

    Showing that someone is impatient, nervous, or eager by moving a foot up and down.

    Grammar: Comes before a noun, as in 'a foot-tapping wait'; often hyphenated in this use.

    Patterns

    • a foot-tapping wait
    • foot-tapping impatience

    There was a foot-tapping delay before the results came out.

    He gave a foot-tapping sigh and checked his watch again.

    The foot-tapping crowd clearly wanted the band to start.

Common combinations

keep time by foot tapping
She kept time by foot tapping under the desk.
constant foot tapping
His constant foot tapping was starting to annoy everyone.
a foot-tapping wait
After a foot-tapping wait, the bus finally arrived.
stop foot tapping
Please stop foot tapping during the exam.

Synonyms and how they differ

tapping
A shorter form for the same action, but it does not say which part of the body is moving.
drumming
Suggests faster, more continuous hitting, often with the fingers rather than the foot.

Word family

foot tap noun
One single light hit of the foot on the ground.
tap verb
To hit something lightly and quickly.
tapping noun
The action or sound of light repeated hits.

Commonly confused: foot tapping or footsteps? foot tapping or toe-tapping?

foot tapping vs footsteps

Footsteps are the sounds or marks of walking; foot tapping is a repeated light hit made while standing or sitting.

foot tapping vs toe-tapping

'Toe-tapping' describes music that makes you want to move your feet; 'foot tapping' is the action itself.

Practice

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