tape

[ teyp ]
See synonyms for: tapetaped on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a strip of cloth, paper, or plastic with an adhesive surface, used for sealing, binding, or attaching items together; adhesive tape or masking tape.

  2. a long, narrow strip of fabric used for tying garments, binding seams or carpets, etc.

  1. a long, narrow strip of paper, metal, etc.

  2. a magnetic tape carrying recorded sound or images: I made a digital copy of that tape of Grandpa playing the violin.

  3. a string stretched across the finishing line in a race and broken by the winning contestant on crossing the line.

verb (used with object),taped, tap·ing.
  1. to furnish with a tape or tapes.

  2. to tie up, bind, or attach with tape.

  1. to measure with or as if with a tape measure.

  2. to record or prerecord on magnetic tape.

verb (used without object),taped, tap·ing.
  1. to record something on magnetic tape.

Origin of tape

1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English; unexplained variant of tappe, Old English tæppe “strip (of cloth),” literally, “part torn off”; akin to Middle Low German teppen “to tear, pluck”

Other words from tape

  • tapeless, adjective
  • tapelike, adjective
  • pre·tape, verb (used with object), pre·taped, pre·tap·ing.
  • re·tape, verb (used with object), re·taped, re·tap·ing.
  • un·taped, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use tape in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tape

tape

/ (teɪp) /


noun
  1. a long thin strip, made of cotton, linen, etc, used for binding, fastening, etc

  2. any long narrow strip of cellulose, paper, metal, etc, having similar uses

  1. a string stretched across the track at the end of a race course

  2. military slang, mainly British another word for stripe 1 (def. 3)

verb(mainly tr)
  1. Also: tape-record (also intr) to record (speech, music, etc)

  2. to furnish with tapes

  1. to bind, measure, secure, or wrap with tape

  2. (usually passive) British informal to take stock of (a person or situation); sum up: he's got the job taped

Origin of tape

1
Old English tæppe; related to Old Frisian tapia to pull, Middle Dutch tapen to tear

Derived forms of tape

  • tapelike, adjective
  • taper, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with tape

tape

see red tape.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.