tape
Americannoun
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a strip of cloth, paper, or plastic with an adhesive surface, used for sealing, binding, or attaching items together; adhesive tape or masking tape.
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a long, narrow strip of fabric used for tying garments, binding seams or carpets, etc.
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a long, narrow strip of paper, metal, etc.
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a magnetic tape carrying recorded sound or images.
I made a digital copy of that tape of Grandpa playing the violin.
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a string stretched across the finishing line in a race and broken by the winning contestant on crossing the line.
verb (used with object)
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to furnish with a tape or tapes.
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to tie up, bind, or attach with tape.
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to measure with or as if with a tape measure.
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to record or prerecord on magnetic tape.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a long thin strip, made of cotton, linen, etc, used for binding, fastening, etc
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any long narrow strip of cellulose, paper, metal, etc, having similar uses
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a string stretched across the track at the end of a race course
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slang military another word for stripe 1
verb
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Also: tape-record. (also intr) to record (speech, music, etc)
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to furnish with tapes
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to bind, measure, secure, or wrap with tape
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informal (usually passive) to take stock of (a person or situation); sum up
he's got the job taped
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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untapedadjective
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retapeverb (used with object)
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tapelikeadjective
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tapernoun
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pretapeverb (used with object)
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tapelessadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has tapedperfect 3rd person singular
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have tapedperfect
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has been tapingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am tapingprogressive 1st person singular
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tapessingular 3rd person
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is tapingprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been tapingperfect progressive
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are tapingprogressive
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tapingparticiple
Past
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had tapedperfect
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was tapingprogressive singular
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tapedparticiple
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tapedsimple
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had been tapingperfect progressive
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were tapingprogressive plural
Future
Etymology
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”
Explanation
Tape is a sticky strip of material you can use for fastening paper or other light objects. You can use a piece of tape to tape a "Keep Out" sign to your bedroom door. A long strip marked with inches or centimeters is a measuring tape, and this is actually the earliest meaning of the word tape. It evolved to be used for many narrow strips, like the tape a marathon runner breaks through at the finish line, the crime scene tape that police use to mark off an area, or the tape you use for recording sound or video.
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.
Sarah Longwell recently screened a tape of a focus group of Catholic participants discussing President Trump’s criticism of Pope Leo XIV, rewatching key interactions like a sports coach reviewing tapes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 13, 2026
But he added: “Even so, a broad-index cycle turning down from a projected high, arriving alongside Friday’s Growth unwind and a still-stretched tape, adds materially to the weight of evidence for a choppy-to-lower summer.”
From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026
The red marker letters on the tape on one bag say "50 Adidas," referring to the brand that produces Mexico's official shirt.
From Barron's • Jun. 6, 2026
The ticker tape had barely settled in Austria before Bulgaria's national broadcaster BNT confirmed Sofia as next year's host city.
From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026
Jess and Eddie had shared a look that meant Please tape Sam’s mouth shut now!
From "I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980" by Lauren Tarshis
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.
