tapas

American  

[tuhp-uhs] / ˈtʌp əs /

noun

Yoga.

1. the conditioning of the body through the proper kinds and amounts of diet, rest, bodily training, meditation, etc., to bring it to the greatest possible state of creative power.

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tapas British  

/ ˈtæpəs /

plural noun

1. 1. light snacks or appetizers, usually eaten with drinks

   2. ( as modifier )

      a tapas bar

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Etymology

Origin of tapas

First recorded in 1930–35; from Sanskrit: “penance,” literally, “heat”; akin to Latin tepēre “to be lukewarm” ( see tepid ( def. ))

Example Sentences

Three-year-old Madeleine vanished from her family's holiday apartment in Portugal's Praia da Luz in May 2007 while her parents dined at a nearby tapas bar.

From Barron's • Oct. 23, 2025

One of three co-owners, Tatenda Mhende described the menu as “similar to Spanish tapas but with French food.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 2, 2025

I am a master of sitting in a hotel room and finishing some not-even-that-time-sensitive work when I should be out at a tapas bar on a nominal vacation.

From Slate • Jul. 20, 2025

When the restaurant settled, I moved back to India and opened my first Indian cocktail bar with Indian tapas.

From Salon • Nov. 9, 2024

When we’re ready to rest, we have tapas at one of the cafés on the Plaza de Santa Ana, next to a statue of the poet and playwright Federico García Lorca.

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar