Father has time to tap (3)
I believe the answer is:
pat
'to tap' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'father has time' is the wordplay.
'father' becomes 'pa' (pa can mean dad or father).
'has' says to put letters next to each other.
'time' becomes 't' (abbreviation).
'pa'+'t'='PAT'
(Other definitions for pat that I've seen before include "Girl" , "Hit lightly" , "Portion of butter" , "Apt for tender touch" , "Small butter piece" .)