cassette

American  

[kuh-set, ka-] / kəˈsɛt, kæ- /

noun

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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Etymology

Origin of cassette

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

Example Sentences

Though cassette culture is enjoying its own period of rediscovery — albeit on a far smaller scale — he hasn’t seen a market emerge for newly engineered tape decks.

From Los Angeles Times

That earlier version introduced a genetic cassette into bacteria, allowing it to copy itself between bacterial genomes and shut down antibiotic resistance genes.

From Science Daily

She also reuses the old cards to new ones and has let go of old cassettes and CDs.

From BBC

When I first flew on a one-way ticket to Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 1993, I arrived with no job, no contacts and no Thai beyond a few phrases acquired from a military language instruction cassette.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Very few people still have their cassettes. Records are still around, but technology phases out.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• tape