Meanings
nounspinal tap (plural spinal taps)
plural spinal taps
- colloquialmedicineLumbar puncture (LP).
Then they tested my spinal column. They gave me a spinal tap even.
2017, Sam Shepard, Spy of the First Person, →ISBN, page 5
Synonyms & antonyms
nounremoval by centesis of fluid from the subarachnoid space of the lumbar region of the spinal cord for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes
Similar
lumbar puncturespinal puncture
Broader
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 腰椎穿刺
- 腰椎穿刺 (yāozhuī chuāncì)colloquial terms for lumbar puncture
Finnish selkäydinpunktio
- selkäydinpunktiocolloquial terms for lumbar puncture
German Lumbalpunktion
- Lumbalpunktioncolloquial terms for lumbar puncture
Icelandic mænuástunga
- mænuástungacolloquial terms for lumbar puncture
Spanish punción lumbar
- punción lumbarcolloquial terms for lumbar puncture
Cite this entry
APA
spinal tap. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spinal%20tap
MLA
“spinal tap.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spinal%20tap. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “spinal tap,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spinal%20tap.
Source: spinal tap on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.