double tap

plural double taps · alternative double-tap · alternative doubletap

1. idiomaticA tactical shooting technique of pulling the trigger of a weapon twice in quick succession to deliver two shots to the same target zone.
2. Two shots or bullets fired in such a way.

   “You said yourself that it looked like a professional hit with a double tap to the head. She could have hired it done and what better alibi than to be in another state when the murder took place,” Danny said.

   2013 July 31, Gary J. Crawford, Double Tap: A Sam Mccloud Novel, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 89

3. broadlyA bombing strategy where the same target is attacked twice, with the second attack targeting rescuers and mourners.

   Perhaps initially in Afghanistan, the double tap was useful as al-Qa'ida or Taliban members would collect the bodies.

   2016, Christine Sixta Rinehart, Drones and Targeted Killing in the Middle East and Africa: An Appraisal of American Counterterrorism Policies, Lexington Books, →ISBN, page 91

   1 more example

   Lebanese healthcare workers and officials say Israeli bombings have deliberately targeted medical workers and facilities in south Lebanon, including through the use of double-tap strikes, in what they describe as a systematic effort to make the area unlivable.

   2026 March 21, William Christou, Abbas Abdelkarim, “Israel deliberately targeting medical facilities in south Lebanon, say health workers”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 21 Mar 2026

4. medicineA form of tympanocentesis in which the middle ear fluid is sampled via needle puncture at two different stages of the process.

present singular third person double taps · participle present double tapping · participle past double tapped · past double tapped · alternative double-tap · alternative doubletap

1. To shoot twice in rapid succession.
2. To click twice on a touchscreen.

   To open an app, tap an item or toggle a switch by choosing the item and then double tapping the screen. When the selected item is double tapped, it will invoke the command as desired.

   2015 October 29, Stewart Melart, iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus for Seniors: The Complete Guide (1), Conceptual Kings

   1 more example

   Peitz tapped the screen and scrolled through a variety of drink icons. He double tapped a couple of others to add the extras and the comm dinged once it registered the final selection.

   2020 June 27, Chad V. Holtkamp, The Spook & Goon Space Adventures Series: Missions 4-6 (The SPOOK & GOON Space Adventures Series Boxset), CVH Group, Inc., →ISBN, →OCLC