cassette

American  

[kuh-set, ka-] / kəˈsɛt, kæ- /

noun

• cassettes
  plural

1. Also called cassette tape. a compact case containing a length of magnetic tape that runs between two small reels: used for recording or playback of audio or video in a tape recorder, cassette deck, video camera, or VCR, and for storage of data by some small computer systems.

2. Photography. a lightproof metal or plastic container for a roll of film, having a single spool for supplying and rewinding the film.

3. a replaceable or refillable cartridge in a typewriter or printer that contains the ribbon or ink.

4. a case or tray in a printer or copier that holds the paper.

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cassette British  

/ kæˈsɛt /

noun

1. 1. a plastic container for magnetic tape, as one inserted into a tape deck

   2. ( as modifier )

      a cassette recorder

2. photog another term for cartridge

3. films a container for film used to facilitate the loading of a camera or projector, esp when the film is used in the form of a loop

4. the injection of genes from one species into the fertilized egg of another species

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cassettes
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of cassette

1955–60; < French, equivalent to casse “box” ( see case ²) + -ette -ette

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Explanation

A cassette is an audiotape, for recording or listening to sound. Before CDs were invented in the 1980s, many people bought their favorite music albums on cassettes. You can use the word cassette to mean an audio or a videotape, though it's more commonly used for something you listen to. To use a cassette, you need a tape player or recorder. Cassette means "little box" in French, and this describes the way it looks, like a small plastic box. The modern meaning came about in 1960.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cassette cassettes

The statute defines “videotape service provider” to include any person in the business of delivering “prerecorded video cassette tapes or similar audio visual materials.”

From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2026

As a child I was once gifted a “custom” cassette tape with songs “written for me.”

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

“And I still listen to the cassette tape often. It’s special.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026

Busby entrusted Mr. Mindte with 60 hours of cassette tapes of autobiographical ramblings, which enliven a narrative that gets dry in stretches.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

I knew from my research that the cassette recorder functioned as the TRS-80’s “tape drive” It stored data as analog sound on magnetic audio-tapes.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

To commemorate the release, Rideaux and Hussle’s team dropped multiple limited edition vinyl records of the album as well as cassettes and T-shirts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

Somewhere in the bowels of my music collection hides 1985’s George Clinton-produced “Freaky Styley” and 1987’s “The Uplift Mofo Party Plan” on crumbling cassettes.

From Salon ● Apr. 4, 2026

Director Spike Lee, with wife Tonya Lewis Lee, showed his distinctive style with a suit featuring a purple fedora hat and matching bow tie, and a bag made of silver cassettes.

From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2026

Even more profoundly, cassettes democratized access to the act of recording itself since cassette technology required minimal infrastructure and cost.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026

He gave me back my cassettes and we were on our way.

From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah

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Related Words

• tape

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