Difference Wiki

Hit vs. Tap: What's the Difference?

By Aimie Carlson & Janet White || Updated on May 23, 2024
"Hit" implies a forceful, impactful action, often causing harm or damage, while "Tap" indicates a light, gentle touch, typically harmless and subtle.

Key Differences

"Hit" suggests a strong, forceful action often resulting in significant impact or damage. For example, hitting a baseball involves considerable strength and precision. In contrast, "tap" describes a gentle, light touch, such as tapping someone on the shoulder to get their attention. This action is generally subtle and harmless.
"Hit" is frequently associated with aggression or intentional impact, like hitting a drum with force to produce a loud sound. "Tap," on the other hand, implies minimal force, like tapping a keyboard softly to avoid noise. The intent behind a hit is usually more intense than a tap.
In sports, "hit" often means striking an object with substantial force, as in hitting a golf ball. Conversely, "tap" can mean a slight touch, like tapping the ball gently into the hole. The physical effort involved in hitting is considerably more than in tapping.
In technology, "hit" might refer to a server receiving a request, indicating a significant interaction. Meanwhile, "tap" is commonly used for light touches on a touchscreen, requiring minimal pressure. The user experience in tapping is generally more delicate than in hitting.

Comparison Chart

Force

Strong, forceful
Gentle, light
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Intent

Often aggressive or impactful
Usually subtle or harmless

Common Contexts

Sports, physical impact, aggression
Attention-getting, technology, subtlety

Example in Sports

Hitting a baseball
Tapping a golf ball

Technology Usage

Server receiving a request (hit)
Light touch on a touchscreen (tap)

Hit and Tap Definitions

Hit

To affect negatively.
The economy was hit hard by the recession.
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Tap

To touch lightly.
She tapped him on the shoulder.

Hit

To press or strike a key or button.
He hit the enter key to submit the form.

Tap

To draw liquid from a source.
They tapped the maple trees for syrup.

Hit

To come into contact with forcefully; strike
The car hit the guardrail.

Tap

To strike gently with a light blow or blows
I tapped you on the shoulder to get your attention.

Hit

To cause to come into contact
She hit her hand against the wall.

Tap

To give a light rap with
Tap a pencil.

Hit

To deal a blow to
He hit the punching bag.

Tap

To produce with a succession of light blows
Tap out a rhythm.

Hit

To cause an implement or missile to come forcefully into contact with
Hit the nail with a hammer.

Tap

To select, as for membership in an organization; designate.

Hit

To press or push (a key or button, for example)
Hit the return key by mistake.

Tap

To repair (shoe heels or toes) by applying a thin layer of leather or a substitute material.

Hit

To reach with a propelled ball or puck
Hit the running back with a pass.

Tap

To attach metal plates to (shoe toes or heels).

Hit

To score in this way
She hit the winning basket.

Tap

To deliver a gentle, light blow or blows.

Hit

To perform (a shot or maneuver) successfully
Couldn't hit the jump shot.

Tap

To walk making light clicks.

Hit

To propel with a stroke or blow
Hit the ball onto the green.

Tap

To tap-dance.

Hit

To execute (a base hit) successfully
Hit a single.

Tap

To furnish with a spigot or tap.

Hit

To bat against (a pitcher or kind of pitch) successfully
Can't hit a slider.

Tap

To pierce in order to draw off liquid
Tap a maple tree.

Hit

To affect, especially adversely
The company was hit hard by the recession. Influenza hit the elderly the hardest.

Tap

To draw (liquid) from a vessel or container
Tap a new keg of beer.

Hit

To be affected by (a negative development)
Their marriage hit a bad patch.

Tap

(Medicine) To withdraw fluid from (a body cavity).

Hit

To win (a prize, for example), especially in a lottery.

Tap

To make a physical connection with or open outlets from
Tap a water main.

Hit

To arise suddenly in the mind of; occur to
It finally hit him that she might be his long-lost sister.

Tap

To wiretap (a telephone or communications channel).

Hit

(Informal) To go to or arrive at
We hit the beach early.

Tap

To establish an electric connection in (a power line), as to divert current secretly.

Hit

(Informal) To attain or reach
Monthly sales hit a new high. She hit 40 on her last birthday.

Tap

To establish access to or a connection with
Tapped a new market for inexpensive books.

Hit

To produce or represent accurately
Trying to hit the right note.

Tap

To take advantage of; make use of
Tapped voter anger to win the election.

Hit

(Games) To deal cards to.

Tap

To cut screw threads in (a collar, socket, or other fitting).

Hit

(Sports) To bite on or take (bait or a lure). Used of a fish.

Tap

(Informal) To ask (a person) for money.

Hit

To strike or deal a blow.

Tap

A gentle blow.

Hit

To come into contact with something; collide.

Tap

The sound made by such a blow.

Hit

To attack
The raiders hit at dawn.

Tap

A thin layer of leather or a substitute applied to a worn-down shoe heel or toe.

Hit

To happen or occur
The storm hit without warning.

Tap

A metal plate attached to the toe or heel of a shoe, as for tap-dancing.

Hit

To achieve or find something desired or sought
Finally hit on the answer.
Hit upon a solution to the problem.

Tap

Tap dance.

Hit

(Baseball) To bat or bat well
Their slugger hasn't been hitting lately.

Tap

(Linguistics) See flap.

Hit

(Sports) To score by shooting, especially in basketball
Hit on 7 of 8 shots.

Tap

A valve and spout used to regulate delivery of a fluid at the end of a pipe.

Hit

To ignite a mixture of air and fuel in the cylinders. Used of an internal-combustion engine.

Tap

A plug for a bunghole; a spigot.

Hit

A collision or impact.

Tap

Liquor drawn from a spigot.

Hit

A successfully executed shot, blow, thrust, or throw.

Tap

Liquor of a particular brew, cask, or quality.

Hit

(Sports) A deliberate collision with an opponent, such as a body check in ice hockey.

Tap

(Medicine) The removal of fluid from a body cavity
A spinal tap.

Hit

A successful or popular venture
A Broadway hit.

Tap

A tool for cutting an internal screw thread.

Hit

A match of data in a search string against data that one is searching.

Tap

A makeshift terminal in an electric circuit.

Hit

A connection made to a website over the internet or another network
Our company's website gets about 250,000 hits daily.

Tap

A wiretap.

Hit

An apt or effective remark.

Tap

A tapering cylindrical pin or peg used to stop the vent in a cask.

Hit

Abbr. H(Baseball) A base hit.

Tap

A device used to dispense liquids.
We don't have bottled water; you'll have to get it from the tap.

Hit

A dose of a narcotic drug.

Tap

Liquor drawn through a tap; hence, a certain kind or quality of liquor.
A liquor of the same tap

Hit

A puff of a cigarette or a pipe.

Tap

A place where liquor is drawn for drinking.

Hit

(Slang) A murder planned and carried out usually by a member of an underworld syndicate.

Tap

(mechanics) A device used to cut an internal screw thread. (External screw threads are cut with a die.)
We drilled a hole and then cut the threads with the proper tap to match the valve's thread.

Hit

To strike.

Tap

A connection made to an electrical or fluid conductor without breaking it.
The system was barely keeping pressure due to all of the ill-advised taps along its length.

Hit

(transitive) To administer a blow to, directly or with a weapon or missile.
One boy hit the other.

Tap

An interception of communication by authority.

Hit

(transitive) To come into contact with forcefully and suddenly.
The ball hit the fence.

Tap

A device used to listen in secretly on telephone calls.

Hit

(intransitive) To strike against something.

Tap

A procedure that removes fluid from a body cavity.
Abdominal tap
Pleural tap
Spinal tap

Hit

(transitive) To activate a button or key by pressing and releasing it.
Hit the Enter key to continue.

Tap

(finance) The situation where a borrowing government authority issues bonds over a period of time, usually at a fixed price, with volumes sold on a particular day dependent on market conditions.
Tap issue; a bond tap

Hit

To kill a person, usually on the instructions of a third party.
Hit him tonight and throw the body in the river.

Tap

A gentle or slight blow; a light rap; a pat.
When Steve felt a tap on his shoulder, he turned around.

Hit

To attack, especially amphibiously.
If intelligence had been what it should have been, I don't think we'd ever have hit that island.

Tap

(dance) tap dance

Hit

To affect someone, as if dealing a blow to that person.
Their coffee really hits the spot.
I used to listen to that song all the time, but it hits different(ly) now.

Tap

The act of touching a touch screen.

Hit

To manage to touch (a target) in the right place.
I hit the jackpot.

Tap

A piece of leather fastened upon the bottom of a boot or shoe in repairing or renewing the sole or heel.

Hit

To switch on.
Somebody's been here! Hit the lights!

Tap

(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.

Hit

To briefly visit.
We hit the grocery store on the way to the park.

Tap

(phonetics) A consonant sound made by a single muscle contraction, such as the sound [ɾ] in the standard American English pronunciation of body.

Hit

To encounter an obstacle or other difficulty.
We hit a lot of traffic coming back from the movies.

Tap

An Indian malarial fever.

Hit

(heading) To attain, to achieve.

Tap

To furnish with taps.
If we tap the maple trees, we can get maple syrup!

Hit

To reach or achieve.
The movie hits theaters in December.
The temperature could hit 110°F tomorrow.
We hit Detroit at one in the morning but kept driving through the night.

Tap

To draw off liquid from a vessel.
He tapped a new barrel of beer.

Hit

(intransitive) To meet or reach what was aimed at or desired; to succeed, often by luck.

Tap

To deplete, especially of a liquid via a tap; to tap out.

Hit

To guess; to light upon or discover.

Tap

To exploit.
Businesses are trying to tap the youth market.

Hit

(transitive) To affect negatively.
The economy was hit by a recession.
The hurricane hit his fishing business hard.

Tap

To place a listening or recording device on a telephone or wired connection.
They can't tap the phone without a warrant.

Hit

(metaphorically) To attack.

Tap

To intercept a communication without authority.
He was known to tap cable television.

Hit

To make a play.

Tap

(mechanical) To cut an internal screw thread.
Tap an M3 thread all the way through the hole.

Hit

In blackjack, to deal a card to.
Hit me.

Tap

To turn or flip a card or playing piece to remind players that it has already been used that turn (by analogy to "tapping," in the sense of drawing on to the point of temporary exhaustion, the resources or abilities represented by the card).

Hit

To come up to bat.
Jones hit for the pitcher.

Tap

(informal) To cadge, borrow or beg.
I tried to tap a cigarette off him, but he wouldn't give me one.

Hit

(backgammon) To take up, or replace by a piece belonging to the opposing player; said of a single unprotected piece on a point.

Tap

To drain off fluid by paracentesis.

Hit

To use; to connect to.
The external web servers hit DBSRV7, but the internal web server hits DBSRV3.

Tap

To advance someone for a post or job, or for membership of a club.
Trump interviewed Mueller for FBI job day before he was tapped for special counsel.

Hit

To have sex with.
I'd hit that!

Tap

To strike lightly.
She tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.

Hit

To inhale an amount of smoke from a narcotic substance, particularly marijuana.

Tap

To touch one's finger, foot, or other body parts on a surface (usually) repeatedly.
He was so nervous he began to tap his fingers on the table.
She tapped her companion on the back to indicate that she was ready to go.
Lydia tapped Jim on the shoulder to get his attention.

Hit

(of an exercise) to affect, to work a body part.
This is another great exercise which hits the long head.

Tap

To make a sharp noise.
The tree, swaying in the breeze, began to tap on the window pane.

Hit

To work out
With that said, the group hitting their legs just once a week still made gains.

Tap

(graphical user interface) To operate an electronic device (e.g. a mobile phone) by tapping a specific place on its (capacitive or other) touch screen.

Hit

A blow; a punch; a striking against; the collision of one body against another; the stroke that touches anything.
The hit was very slight.

Tap

To designate for some duty or for membership, as in 'a tap on the shoulder'.

Hit

Something very successful, such as a song, film, or video game, that receives widespread recognition and acclaim.

Tap

To have sexual intercourse with.
I would tap that hot girl over there.
I'd tap that.

Hit

An attack on a location, person or people.

Tap

(combat sports) To submit to an opponent by tapping one's hand repeatedly.

Hit

A collision of a projectile with the target.

Tap

To force (an opponent) to submit.

Hit

In the game of Battleship, a correct guess at where one's opponent ship is.

Tap

To put a new sole or heel on.
To tap shoes

Hit

A match found by searching a computer system or search engine

Tap

To strike with a slight or gentle blow; to touch gently; to rap lightly; to pat; as, to tap one with the hand or a cane.

Hit

(Internet) A measured visit to a web site, a request for a single file from a web server.
My site received twice as many hits after being listed in a search engine.

Tap

To put a new sole or heel on; as, to tap shoes.

Hit

An approximately correct answer in a test set.

Tap

To strike a gentle blow.

Hit

(baseball) The complete play, when the batter reaches base without the benefit of a walk, error, or fielder’s choice.
The catcher got a hit to lead off the fifth.

Tap

To pierce so as to let out, or draw off, a fluid; as, to tap a cask, a tree, a tumor, a keg of beer, etc.

Hit

(colloquial) A dose of an illegal or addictive drug.
Where am I going to get my next hit?

Tap

Hence, to draw resources from (a reservoir) in any analogous way; as, to tap someone's knowledge of the Unix system; to tap the treasury.

Hit

A premeditated murder done for criminal or political purposes.

Tap

To draw, or cause to flow, by piercing.
He has been tapping his liquors.

Hit

(dated) A peculiarly apt expression or turn of thought; a phrase which hits the mark.
A happy hit

Tap

To form an internal screw in (anything) by means of a tool called a tap; as, to tap a nut, a pipe, or tubing.

Hit

(backgammon) A move that throws one of the opponent's men back to the entering point.

Tap

To connect a listening device to (a telephone or telegraph line) secretly, for the purpose of hearing private conversations; also, to obtain or record (information) by tapping; - a technique used by law enforcement agencies investigating suspected criminals. In the United States it is illegal without a court order permitting it.

Hit

(backgammon) A game won after the adversary has removed some of his men. It counts for less than a gammon.

Tap

A gentle or slight blow; a light rap; a pat.

Hit

Very successful.
The band played their hit song to the delight of the fans.

Tap

A piece of leather fastened upon the bottom of a boot or shoe in repairing or renewing the sole or heel.

Hit

(dialectal) It.

Tap

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.

Hit

It.

Tap

A hole or pipe through which liquor is drawn.

Hit

To reach with a stroke or blow; to strike or touch, usually with force; especially, to reach or touch (an object aimed at).
I think you have hit the mark.

Tap

A plug or spile for stopping a hole pierced in a cask, or the like; a faucet.

Hit

To reach or attain exactly; to meet according to the occasion; to perform successfully; to attain to; to accord with; to be conformable to; to suit.
Birds learning tunes, and their endeavors to hit the notes right.
There you hit him; . . . that argument never fails with him.
Whose saintly visage is too brightTo hit the sense of human sight.
He scarcely hit my humor.

Tap

Liquor drawn through a tap; hence, a certain kind or quality of liquor; as, a liquor of the same tap.

Hit

To guess; to light upon or discover.

Tap

A place where liquor is drawn for drinking; a taproom; a bar.

Hit

To take up, or replace by a piece belonging to the opposing player; - said of a single unprotected piece on a point.

Tap

A tool for forming an internal screw, as in a nut, consisting of a hardened steel male screw grooved longitudinally so as to have cutting edges.

Hit

To meet or come in contact; to strike; to clash; - followed by against or on.
If bodies be extension alone, how can they move and hit one against another?
Corpuscles, meeting with or hitting on those bodies, become conjoined with them.

Tap

The sound made by a gentle blow

Hit

To meet or reach what was aimed at or desired; to succeed, - often with implied chance, or luck.
And oft it hitsWhere hope is coldest and despair most fits.
And millions miss for one that hits.

Tap

A faucet for drawing water from a pipe or cask

Hit

A striking against; the collision of one body against another; the stroke that touches anything.
So he the famed Cilician fencer praised,And, at each hit, with wonder seems amazed.

Tap

A gentle blow

Hit

A stroke of success in an enterprise, as by a fortunate chance; as, he made a hit;
What late he called a blessing, now was wit,And God's good providence, a lucky hit.

Tap

A small metal plate that attaches to the toe or heel of a shoe (as in tap dancing)

Hit

A peculiarly apt expression or turn of thought; a phrase which hits the mark; as, a happy hit.

Tap

A tool for cutting female (internal) screw threads

Hit

A game won at backgammon after the adversary has removed some of his men. It counts less than a gammon.

Tap

A plug for a bunghole in a cask

Hit

A striking of the ball; as, a safe hit; a foul hit; - sometimes used specifically for a base hit.

Tap

The act of tapping a telephone or telegraph line to get information

Hit

An act of murder performed for hire, esp. by a professional assassin.

Tap

A light touch or stroke

Hit

(baseball) a successful stroke in an athletic contest (especially in baseball);
He came all the way around on Williams' hit

Tap

Cut a female screw thread with a tap

Hit

The act of contacting one thing with another;
Repeated hitting raised a large bruise
After three misses she finally got a hit

Tap

Draw from or dip into to get something;
Tap one's memory
Tap a source of money

Hit

A conspicuous success;
That song was his first hit and marked the beginning of his career
That new Broadway show is a real smasher
The party went with a bang

Tap

Strike lightly;
He tapped me on the shoulder

Hit

(physics) an brief event in which two or more bodies come together;
The collision of the particles resulted in an exchange of energy and a change of direction

Tap

Draw from; make good use of;
We must exploit the resources we are given wisely

Hit

A dose of a narcotic drug

Tap

Tap a telephone or telegraph wire to get information;
The FBI was tapping the phone line of the suspected spy
Is this hotel room bugged?

Hit

A murder carried out by an underworld syndicate;
It has all the earmarks of a Mafia hit

Tap

Furnish with a tap or spout, so as to be able to draw liquid from it;
Tap a cask of wine

Hit

A connection made via the internet to another website;
WordNet gets many hits from users worldwide

Tap

Make light, repeated taps on a surface;
He was tapping his fingers on the table impatiently

Hit

Cause to move by striking;
Hit a ball

Tap

Walk with a tapping sound

Hit

Hit against; come into sudden contact with;
The car hit a tree
He struck the table with his elbow

Tap

Dance and make rhythmic clicking sounds by means of metal plates nailed to the sole of the dance shoes;
Glover tapdances better than anybody

Hit

Affect or afflict suddenly, usually adversely;
We were hit by really bad weather
He was stricken with cancer when he was still a teenager
The earthquake struck at midnight

Tap

Draw (liquor) from a tap;
Tap beer in a bar

Hit

Deal a blow to, either with the hand or with an instrument;
He hit her hard in the face

Tap

Pierce in order to draw a liquid from;
Tap a maple tree for its syrup
Tap a keg of beer

Hit

Reach a destination, either real or abstract;
We hit Detroit by noon
The water reached the doorstep
We barely made it to the finish line
I have to hit the MAC machine before the weekend starts

Tap

Make a solicitation or entreaty for something; request urgently or persistently;
Henry IV solicited the Pope for a divorce
My neighbor keeps soliciting money for different charities

Hit

Reach a point in time, or a certain state or level;
The thermometer hit 100 degrees
This car can reach a speed of 140 miles per hour

Tap

To produce a sound by light touches.
He tapped his fingers on the table.

Hit

Hit with a missile from a weapon

Tap

To select something gently on a screen.
Tap the icon to open the app.

Hit

Cause to experience suddenly;
Panic struck me
An interesting idea hit her
A thought came to me
The thought struck terror in our minds
They were struck with fear

Tap

To lightly pat.
He tapped the dog’s head affectionately.

Hit

Make a strategic, offensive, assault against an enemy, opponent, or a target;
The Germans struck Poland on Sept. 1, 1939
We must strike the enemy's oil fields
In the fifth inning, the Giants struck, sending three runners home to win the game 5 to 2

Hit

Hit the intended target or goal

Hit

Produce by manipulating keys or strings of musical instruments, also metaphorically;
The pianist strikes a middle C
Strike `z' on the keyboard
Her comments struck a sour note

Hit

Encounter by chance;
I stumbled across a long-lost cousin last night in a restaurant

Hit

Gain points in a game;
The home team scored many times
He hit a home run
He hit .300 in the past season

Hit

Consume to excess;
Hit the bottle

Hit

Kill intentionally and with premeditation;
The mafia boss ordered his enemies murdered

Hit

Drive something violently into a location;
He hit his fist on the table
She struck her head on the low ceiling

Hit

Pay unsolicited and usually unwanted sexual attention to;
He tries to hit on women in bars

Hit

To strike with force.
He hit the ball out of the park.

Hit

To collide with something.
The car hit the wall.

Hit

To reach a target or goal.
She hit her sales target for the month.

FAQs

What does "hit" mean?

"Hit" means to strike something with force. E.g., He hit the nail with a hammer.

Is "hit" always forceful?

Yes, "hit" implies a significant force. E.g., The boxer hit his opponent hard.

Can "tap" be used in technology?

Yes, "tap" is often used to describe touching a screen lightly. E.g., Tap the button to start.

What does "tap" mean?

"Tap" means to touch something lightly. E.g., She tapped the glass to get attention.

Does "hit" have non-physical meanings?

Yes, it can mean to achieve a target. E.g., She hit her financial goals.

Can "hit" be metaphorical?

Yes, it can describe achieving success. E.g., The song hit the top of the charts.

Is "tap" ever forceful?

No, "tap" generally implies minimal force. E.g., He tapped the window softly.

Is "tap" used in sports?

Yes, especially in gentle actions like tapping a ball in golf. E.g., She tapped the ball into the hole.

Does "tap" have non-literal uses?

Yes, it can mean to draw from a resource. E.g., They tapped into the database.

Is "tap" associated with sound?

Yes, it can describe a light tapping noise. E.g., He heard a tap on the window.

Is "hit" used in sports?

Yes, it's commonly used to describe striking a ball. E.g., He hit a home run.

Can "hit" imply damage?

Yes, it often suggests causing harm. E.g., The storm hit the coast hard.

Can "tap" be affectionate?

Yes, it can imply a gentle, affectionate touch. E.g., She tapped his cheek softly.

Does "hit" have a violent connotation?

It can, depending on context. E.g., He hit the intruder to defend himself.

Is "tap" common in daily language?

Yes, often in contexts like getting attention. E.g., She tapped him to ask a question.

Does "hit" have any positive meanings?

Yes, achieving success is positive. E.g., The campaign was a hit.

Is "hit" used in computing?

Yes, for example, a web hit counts visits to a site. E.g., The site had 1,000 hits today.

Can "tap" be used in financial contexts?

Yes, like accessing funds. E.g., He tapped his savings for the trip.

Is "hit" a versatile word?

Yes, it has many uses across contexts. E.g., The joke really hit the mark.

Does "tap" imply precision?

Often, yes, as it usually involves a specific, controlled touch. E.g., Tap the screen icon precisely.
About Author
Written by
Aimie Carlson
Aimie Carlson, holding a master's degree in English literature, is a fervent English language enthusiast. She lends her writing talents to Difference Wiki, a prominent website that specializes in comparisons, offering readers insightful analyses that both captivate and inform.
Co-written by
Janet White
Janet White has been an esteemed writer and blogger for Difference Wiki. Holding a Master's degree in Science and Medical Journalism from the prestigious Boston University, she has consistently demonstrated her expertise and passion for her field. When she's not immersed in her work, Janet relishes her time exercising, delving into a good book, and cherishing moments with friends and family.

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