Meaning & use
toe tap
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A light touch of the floor with the tip of the foot, often done in dance or exercise.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a toe tap' or 'three toe taps'.
Patterns
- do a toe tap
- perform toe taps
The dance teacher asked us to start with a simple toe tap.
In the warm-up, we did twenty toe taps on each foot.
His toe tap kept the rhythm while the band played.
nouncountablespecialist
A type of tap dance step where the toe taps the floor without putting weight on it.
Grammar: Countable; often used in the plural when referring to a series of steps.
Patterns
- a series of toe taps
- perform a toe tap
The tap dancer finished with a fast toe tap.
She practiced the toe tap until it was perfect.
The routine included a toe tap followed by a heel drop.
Word forms
| plural | toe taps |
|---|
Common combinations
- do a toe tap
- The instructor told us to do a toe tap on the right foot.
- quick toe tap
- He gave a quick toe tap to the beat.
- toe tap exercise
- The toe tap exercise helps improve balance.
- toe tap step
- The choreography includes a toe tap step at the beginning.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tap
- A general word for a light hit; 'toe tap' is more specific and usually refers to the foot.
Word family
Commonly confused: toe tap or toe-tapping?
toe tap vs toe-tapping
This is an adjective meaning 'causing one to tap their toes to music', as in 'a toe-tapping tune'. It is not the same as the noun 'toe tap'.
Practice
The dance instructor said, 'Now add a ______ to the end of the sequence.'
Choose one answer.
The noun 'toe tap' fits after 'a' and before 'to'. 'Toe tapping' is a gerund and would need a different structure, 'toe-tapping' is an adjective, and 'toe tapped' is a verb form.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “toe tap”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.