blow vs tap

blow

verb
  • To make a sound as the result of being blown. 

  • (used to express displeasure or frustration) Damn. 

  • To create or shape by blowing; as in to blow bubbles, to blow glass. 

  • To flatulate or defecate. 

  • To produce an air current. 

  • To fail at something; to mess up; to make a mistake. 

  • To propel by an air current (or, if under water, a water current), usually with the mouth. 

  • To fellate; to perform oral sex on (usually a man). 

  • To make flyblown, to defile, especially with fly eggs. 

  • (of a fly) To lay eggs; to breed. 

  • To put out of breath; to cause to blow from fatigue. 

  • To be propelled by an air current. 

  • To sing. 

  • To blow from a gun. 

  • To blossom; to cause to bloom or blossom. 

  • To clear of contents by forcing air through. 

  • To cause the sudden destruction of. 

  • To cause to make sound by blowing, as a musical instrument. 

  • To direct or move, usually of a person to a particular location. 

  • To burst or explode; to occur suddenly 

  • To leave, especially suddenly or in a hurry. 

  • To suddenly fail destructively. 

  • To exhale visibly through the spout the seawater which it has taken in while feeding. 

  • To force a current of air upon with the mouth, or by other means. 

  • To be very undesirable. 

  • To leave the Church of Scientology in an unauthorized manner. 

  • To breathe hard or quick; to pant; to puff. 

  • To recklessly squander. 

  • To cause to explode, shatter, or be utterly destroyed. 

adj
  • Blue. 

noun
  • Synonym of button (“the punchy or suspenseful line of dialogue that concludes a scene”) 

  • Cocaine. 

  • An instance of using high-pressure air to empty water from the ballast tanks of a submarine, increasing the submarine's buoyancy and causing it to surface. 

  • A damaging occurrence. 

  • Cannabis. 

  • A mass or display of flowers; a yield. 

  • An outcrop of quartz from surrounding rock, thought to indicate mineral deposits below. 

  • A bloom, state of flowering. 

  • A sudden or forcible act or effort; an assault. 

  • A strong wind. 

  • The act of striking or hitting. 

  • A blowjob; fellatio. 

  • A display of anything brilliant or bright. 

  • Heroin. 

  • A chance to catch one's breath. 

  • A cut made to a sheep's fleece by a shearer using hand-shears. 

tap

verb
  • To make a sharp noise. 

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

  • To draw off liquid from a vessel. 

  • To drain off fluid by paracentesis. 

  • To have sexual intercourse with. 

  • To put a new sole or heel on. 

  • To place a listening or recording device on a telephone or wired connection. 

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

  • To touch one's finger, foot, or other body parts on a surface (usually) repeatedly. 

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

  • To furnish with taps. 

  • To exploit. 

  • To cadge, borrow or beg. 

  • 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). 

  • To submit to an opponent by tapping one's hand repeatedly. 

  • To strike lightly. 

  • To advance someone for a post or job, or for membership of a club. 

  • To cut an internal screw thread. 

  • To intercept a communication without authority. 

  • To force (an opponent) to submit. 

noun
  • A device used to dispense liquids. 

  • A device used to listen in secretly on telephone calls. 

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

  • An interception of communication by authority. 

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

  • A device used to cut an internal screw thread. (External screw threads are cut with a die.) 

  • 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. 

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

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

  • A place where liquor is drawn for drinking. 

  • 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. 

  • Liquor drawn through a tap; hence, a certain kind or quality of liquor. 

  • A procedure that removes fluid from a body cavity. 

  • An Indian malarial fever. 

  • The act of touching a touch screen. 

  • A connection made to an electrical or fluid conductor without breaking it. 

How often have the words blow and tap occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )