tape

[ teyp ]

/ teɪp /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: tape / taped on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

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

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

tape measure.

magnetic tape.

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

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

ticker tape.

verb (used with object), taped, tap·ing.

to furnish with a tape or tapes.

to tie up, bind, or attach with tape.

to measure with or as if with a tape measure.

to record or prerecord on magnetic tape.

verb (used without object), taped, tap·ing.

to record something on magnetic tape.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of tape

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, adjectivetapelike, adjectivepre·tape, verb (used with object), pre·taped, pre·tap·ing.re·tape, verb (used with object), re·taped, re·tap·ing.

un·taped, adjective

Words nearby tape

Tapajós, tapas, tap bell, tap bolt, tap dance, tape, tape deck, tape drive, tape echo, tape editing, tape grass

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tape in a sentence

Yes, washi tape is cute and that should be a good enough reason to get some.
Must-have art supplies to let your inner creative shine|Sandra Gutierrez G.|February 11, 2021|Popular-Science
Using a flexible tailors measuring tape you should wrap the tape around the circumference of your hand around the palm.
Best winter gloves: Our picks for touch screen gloves, ski gloves, and more|PopSci Commerce Team|February 2, 2021|Popular-Science
There are mask mandates and tape around desks, an attempt to ensure that no one breaches the six-foot social-distancing rule.
After months of planning, protests and false starts, D.C. students and teachers head to classes for first time in nearly a year|Perry Stein, Lauren Lumpkin, Joe Heim, Laura Meckler|February 2, 2021|Washington Post
In the 45 cases we examined, the harshest penalty any officer received was a loss of 15 vacation days — for punching a teenager and knocking him unconscious in an incident caught on tape that went viral.
New York City Paid an NBA Star Millions After an NYPD Officer Broke His Leg. The Officer Paid Little Price.|by Mike Hayes for ProPublica|January 12, 2021|ProPublica

We’ve often speculated that guys who don’t have much tape might have an unexpected advantage in that first game out.
Lamar Jackson, The Browns And Slime Won The NFL’s Wild-Card Weekend|Sara Ziegler (sara.ziegler@fivethirtyeight.com)|January 11, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
My agent at the time sent that tape to SNL and then they asked me to come in for an audition.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I stood with a tape recorder, listening to men denounce the liberal media controlled by Jews.
The Louisiana Racists Who Courted Steve Scalise|Jason Berry|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Is there any better Beyoncé lyric to use in response to the most shocking celebrity tape this side of One Night in Paris?
Yoncé Said Knock You Out: The Solange and Jay Z Story|Kevin O’Keeffe|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I watched Garner die on tape and wondered why I was crying so hard when I am not that much of a cryer at all.
The Day I Used Eric Garner’s Voice|Joshua DuBois|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Well, because casinos have cameras everywhere, turns out there was indeed a tape.
The $44 Million Teflon Don of the NFL|Mike Barnicle|November 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He gets out and does things while these fatheads stay in quarters and untangle red tape.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
A handkerchief, once red, with polka spots, contained a ragged flannel shirt and a stocking-heel tied with a piece of tape.
A Lost Hero|Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward and Herbert D. Ward
Black Hood knew what it was to be a policeman with hands bound by red tape or political intrigue.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
He ripped the tape clear and then paused, hand outflung, as if he could not resist this final bit of drama.
We're Friends, Now|Henry Hasse
Even for doctors to obtain it is an undertaking involving considerable red tape.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various

British Dictionary definitions for tape

tape

/ (teɪp) /

noun

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

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

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

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

See magnetic tape, ticker tape, paper tape, tape recording

verb (mainly tr)

Also: tape-record (also intr) to record (speech, music, etc)

to furnish with tapes

to bind, measure, secure, or wrap with tape

(usually passive) British informal to take stock of (a person or situation); sum uphe's got the job taped

Derived forms of tape

tapelike, adjectivetaper, noun

Word Origin for tape

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

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.

tape

Origin of tape

OTHER WORDS FROM tape

Words nearby tape

Words related to tape

How to use tape in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tape

Derived forms of tape

Word Origin for tape

Other Idioms and Phrases with tape