tape
Americannoun
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tapes
plural
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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.
-
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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tapes,
present (3rd person singular)
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taped,
past participle, past
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taping
present participle
-
to furnish with a tape or tapes.
-
to tie up, bind, or attach with tape.
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to measure with or as if with a tape measure.
-
to record or prerecord on magnetic tape.
verb (used without object)
-
tapes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
taped,
past participle, past
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taping
present participle
noun
-
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
-
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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tapernoun
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pretapeverb (used with object)
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retapeverb (used with object)
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tapelessadjective
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tapelikeadjective
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untapedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tapesimple
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tapessimple
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have tapedperfect
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has tapedperfect
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am tapingprogressive
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are tapingprogressive
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is tapingprogressive
-
have been tapingperfect progressive
-
has been tapingperfect progressive
Past
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tapedsimple
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had tapedperfect
-
was tapingprogressive
-
were tapingprogressive
-
had been tapingperfect progressive
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.
See Examples For:
In California, another expensive state for housing, Proposition 45 also aims to cut local red tape.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
"Writing the record is only half the problem. You also have to read it back out of each cell, so we redesigned the tape to make that easier," said Kim.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
Within an hour, Sramek warned of an obstacle: county government red tape.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
The late Lakers legend created a film-analysis series called “Detail,” which was designed to show the public how a professional basketball player studies game tape.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
It’s possible they forgot the tape was still rolling.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
The statute defines “videotape service provider” to include any person in the business of delivering “prerecorded video cassette tapes or similar audio visual materials.”
From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2026
Littleton Auctions is handling sale and say the tapes, recorded directly from the sound desk, form the only master archive of their kind.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
On the fifth anniversary, I focused not on the pictures of the event but the sounds, especially the tapes and transcripts of the last phone calls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
The mail-order club would offer customers eight to 12 CDs, tapes, records — and, in later years, DVDs and blu-rays — for a penny.
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026
Beside him on the couch is the box Effie sent of tapes of the old Hunger Games.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
I taped over pictures of myself and put away anything with personal information, so that Tau Robotics’ bipedal robots wouldn’t collect any identifying data.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
The new ones are 1½ inches shorter and need to be taped closed, an added step that will cost money.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
There was a small kitchen, with a sign taped to the fridge: “Please clean up after yourself no maid service here!!!”
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026
My mom taped it when it first aired on cable a couple of years later and since it was based on a beloved board game, I was invested.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
They gave me my own locker, and just like them, I taped up snapshots of my family inside the metal door.
From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings
It is planning a party in the Meatpacking District, and will partner with the “Adults” actor Owen Thiele to host a branded live taping of a podcast episode.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
A few months after moving here, Cassaday met her future business partner, Cory Jacob, at a podcast taping.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
Others took a more simple do-it-yourself approach, taping their cards between two star-shaped pieces of paper.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026
"They're designed to reflect heat and they are large, so they're ideal for taping to the window frame to reflect most of the light back out," he says.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
Jessie looked at Evan, but he was busy taping the sign to the cooler.
From "The Lemonade War" by Jacqueline Davies
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