one-tap

verb

To kill (an enemy) in one shot.

“This guy is camping so hard that I can barely move off of spawn before getting one-tapped.”

Meanings

verbone-tap (third-person singular simple present one-taps, present participle one-tapping, simple past and past participle one-tapped)

present singular third person one-taps · participle present one-tapping · participle past one-tapped · past one-tapped

  1. slangtransitivevideo gamesTo kill (an enemy) in one shot.

    This guy is camping so hard that I can barely move off of spawn before getting one-tapped.

    5 more examples

    This was an issue during Valorant's beta, where players used to complain about getting one-tapped to the head before them being aware.

    2020 December 20, Satyaki Das, “Should Valorant remove the delay before a player is accurate during strafing?”, in Sportskeeda, archived from the original on 24 Jan 2021

    This allows players to instantly escape danger after one-tapping an enemy, making the difference in crucial situations.

    2021 February 8, Jalen Lopez, “Lothar highlights binding Reyna's Dismiss ability to turn invulnerable after one-tapping in VALORANT”, in Dot Esports, archived from the original on 10 May 2021

    The pistol is about one-tapping the enemy with headshots and taking them out before they have the time to turn around and spot you.

    2022 October 25, Abhishek Mallick, “Modern Warfare 2 "Nessie" achievement guide: How to kill all guards unseen”, in Sportskeeda, archived from the original on 25 Oct 2022

    Capable of "one-tapping" opponents and wiping them out before they can even react, this is the perfect setup for aggressive players who aren't afraid of getting into the thick of the action.

    2022 November 14, Alex Garton, “Modern Warfare 2 expert claims "one-tap" shotgun dominates close-range”, in Dexerto, archived from the original on 15 Nov 2022

    It only takes two shots to kill someone at all ranges, and you can one-tap enemies with a single headshot up to 30 meters.

    2022 November 22, Charles Burgar, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Best LM-S Loadout”, in TheGamer, archived from the original on 22 Nov 2022

    Synonyms: one-hit, instakill

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo kill (an enemy) in one shot.

Origin

A reference to first-person shooter games in which a gun is fired by "tapping" the left click button on a mouse.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

one-tap. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/one-tap

MLA

“one-tap.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/one-tap. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “one-tap,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/one-tap.

Source: one-tap on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.