tape

[ teyp ]

/ teɪp /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tape ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a long, narrow strip of linen, cotton, or the like, used for tying garments, binding seams or carpets, etc.

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

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

tape measure.

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

ticker tape.

magnetic tape.

a magnetic tape carrying prerecorded sound: a tape of a rock concert.

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.

Nearby words

Origin of tape

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

Related forms

tape·less, adjectivetape·like, 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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tape

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 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
When Roger first heard what happened and saw the tape he was shocked, truly shocked, and outraged.
The $44 Million Teflon Don of the NFL|Mike Barnicle|November 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The assault, caught on tape, stunned the country and resulted in riots that brought in the National Guard.
‘Why Have I Lost Control?’: Cory Booker in ’92 on Rodney King Echoes Ferguson|Cory Booker|November 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Mr. Max Phillips brought a tape recorder into my home and as you know I do a lot of talking.
Warren Commission (1 of 26): Hearings Vol. I (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
Before basting the tape down on the wrong side, fasten the elastic in place on one side of the sleeve protector.
Handicraft for Girls|Idabelle McGlauflin
He reached, freed a corner of the tape and ripped it off in a single swipe.
History Repeats|George Oliver Smith
I spread the fabrics on the floor and set to work with a tape measure.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 147, October 28, 1914|Various
The tape measure should completely encircle the thorax in a horizontal plane passing through the mammary papillæ.
Pedagogical Anthropology|Maria Montessori

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 Formstapelike, 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

Word Origin and History for tape

tape

Old English tæppe "narrow strip of cloth used for tying, measuring, etc.," of uncertain origin, perhaps a back-formation from Latin tapete "carpet." The original short vowel became long in Middle English.

Tape recorder "device for recording sound on magnetic tape" first attested 1932; from earlier meaning "device for recording data on ticker tape" (1892), from tape in the sense of "paper strip of a printer" (1884). Tape-measure is attested from 1873; tape-delay is from 1968.

tape

c.1600, from tape (n.); meaning "to make a tape recording" is from 1950. Related: Taped; taping.

Idioms and Phrases with tape

tape

see red tape.

tape

noun

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

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

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of tape

Examples from the Web for tape

tape

noun

verb (mainly tr)

Word Origin for tape

tape

tape

tape