tape

[teyp]

noun

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

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

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

4. tape measure.

5. magnetic tape.

6. a magnetic tape carrying recorded sound or images.

   I made a digital copy of that tape of Grandpa playing the violin.

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

8. ticker tape.

verb (used with object)

taped, taping 

1. to furnish with a tape or tapes.

2. to tie up, bind, or attach with tape.

3. to measure with or as if with a tape measure.

4. to record or prerecord on magnetic tape.

verb (used without object)

taped, taping 

1. to record something on magnetic tape.

tape

/ teɪp /

noun

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

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

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

4. slang,  military another word for stripe 1

5. See magnetic tape ticker tape paper tape tape recording

verb

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

2. to furnish with tapes

3. to bind, measure, secure, or wrap with tape

4. informal,  (usually passive) to take stock of (a person or situation); sum up

   he's got the job taped

Other Word Forms

• tapeless adjective
• tapelike adjective
• pretape verb (used with object)
• retape verb (used with object)
• untaped adjective
• taper noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of tape¹

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of tape¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

see red tape.

Example Sentences

John Hump kept me on the edge of my seat—and long beyond the life of my battery-powered tape recorder—as he described the government’s indifference to his family’s complaints of trespass and invasion.

Read more on Salon

The proposals are controversial with landowners and some opposition politicians, who say they create red tape and could damage rural businesses.

Read more on BBC

The declaration allowed the city to cut through red tape, including through no-bid contracts, and to start Inside Safe, Bass’ signature program focused on moving homeless people off the streets and into interim housing.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He says developers can’t afford to see projects through to fruition if it’s going to take years of working through red tape.

Read more on MarketWatch

He called on the SNP government to cut red tape and middle managers from the health service to free up funding for frontline medics.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• line 
• rope