tap into — draw on or make use of a resource, skill, or feeling
to use or take advantage of something such as knowledge, experience, energy, or a group of people, especially in order to achieve something or solve a problem.
Say it like a native
Textbook The company sought to exploit a previously unreached market.
Native The company wanted to tap into a new market.
'Tap into' is the natural verb for drawing on a resource or market; 'exploit' can sound negative and formal.
Pattern: tap into + noun (resource/energy/market/knowledge/experience/feeling)
In use
- The company hopes to tap into the growing demand for eco-friendly products.work
- In my opinion, universities should tap into the expertise of industry professionals to make their courses more relevant to the job market.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ We should tap into on local knowledge.
✓ We should tap into local knowledge.
'Tap into' takes the object directly — no 'on'.
Common collocations
tap into + resource— a market, local knowledge, their expertise, demand
Don't confuse it
Unlike the literal sense of 'tap' (to hit lightly), 'tap into' is always figurative and refers to making use of a resource, not physically touching or hitting something.