In phonetics, a flap or tap is a type of consonantal sound, which is produced with a single contraction of the muscles so that one articulator is thrown against another. The main difference between a flap and a stop consonant is that in a flap, there is no buildup of air pressure behind the place of articulation.

The flap or tap consonants identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet are:

Other flaps that are less common include bilabial flaps [w̆] (present in Banda) and labiodental flaps [v̆] (present in Kera).

See also

• List of phonetics topics