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duct tape

American  
[duhk, duhkt] / dʌk, dʌkt /

noun

  1. a strongly adhesive silver-gray cloth tape, used in plumbing, household repairs, etc.

duct tape British  

noun

  1. a type of strong waterproof adhesive silver-coloured cloth tape used for repairs by plumbers, electricians, etc

"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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The duct-tape solution assumes you have duct tape — but the West’s is now in China because it was cheaper.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 3, 2026

The electrical grid is held together with duct tape.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 28, 2025

“Every time he laid down it would irritate the skin and cause it to bleed. I was putting duct tape to fix it.”

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 28, 2025

We’re hurtling toward a future with more than 50 state systems patched together with duct tape and wishful thinking.

From Slate • Jul. 4, 2025

Ms. Faraci was supposed to be an oxygen molecule, but her outfit—pieced together with coat hangers, duct tape, and cardboard—carried the unfortunate whiff of homemade desperation.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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