punched tape

American  

Or punch tape

noun

1. Computers. paper tape.

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punched tape British  

noun

1. a strip of paper for recording information in the form of rows of either six or eight holes, some or all of which are punched to produce a combination used as a discrete code symbol, formerly used in computers, telex machines, etc

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Etymology

Origin of punched tape

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Zuse's earliest machine was programmed by punched tape, stored only 64 characters and took up to two seconds to do simple addition.

From Washington Post • Nov. 1, 2010

Because both Barbaud and Blanchard are modernists, much influenced by Schoenberg, they have instructed Gamma in the twelve-tone scale so that it can spew forth Schoenbergian chamber works on punched tape with confidence and ease.

From Time Magazine Archive

Machines cannot get beyond the graphic or punched tape instructions fed into them .

From Time Magazine Archive

Then a light glowed and meaningful numbers appeared in a punched tape.

From Time Magazine Archive

The signal was coming through frantically as Tiger reached for the pile of punched tape running out on the floor.

From Star Surgeon by Nourse, Alan Edward