tape

[teyp]

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.

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 formstape·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. 2018

Examples from the Web for taping

Contemporary Examples

During the summer of 2013, I had the pleasure of attending a taping of The Colbert Report.
Ashton Kutcher’s History of Idiocy: Ubergate, Brownface, Joe Paterno, and More
Marlow Stern
November 20, 2014
Trebek has spent four television weeks, in reality four or five days of taping, with her.
Jeopardy! Champion Julia Collins’s Brain Feels Like Mush
Sujay Kumar
November 20, 2014
And Cosby showed up on a taping day wearing one of the sweaters.
A Full-Length Bill Cosby Portrait: From Track Star to Ugly Sweaters
Scott Porch
September 24, 2014
The taping created such a stir that late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel had Nathan on to discuss the idea.
Nathan Fielder’s Business Theater: ‘Dumb Starbucks’ Wasn’t a Prank
Rich Goldstein
August 4, 2014
The McDaniel campaign originally denied any prior knowledge of the taping.
The Strange Tale of the Tea Party Senate Hopeful and the Break-In
Ben Jacobs
May 20, 2014

Historical Examples

I would advise no one to attempt the Russian method of taping the jaws while the wolf is held by the seizers.
Hunting in Many Lands
Various
Box sextant, used as giving angular accuracy to any of the foregoing; most useful with taping, and in following.
How to Observe in Archaeology
Various
Lifting and carrying and shoving; cornering and taping and lacing—it seemed as though the afternoon would never wear to an end.
The Long Day
Dorothy Richardson
Scotty spent the time on a small repair job, taping up the neoprene gasoline hoses that carried fuel to the houseboat motors.
The Flying Stingaree
Harold Leland Goodwin
In Lockley's state of mind, the taping took away all authority from the voices.
Operation Terror
William Fitzgerald Jenkins

British Dictionary definitions for taping

tape

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

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 taping

tape

n.

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

v.

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

Idioms and Phrases with taping

tape

see red tape.

tape

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}tape

Related Words

Examples from the Web for taping

Contemporary Examples

During the summer of 2013, I had the pleasure of attending a taping of The Colbert Report.

Trebek has spent four television weeks, in reality four or five days of taping, with her.

And Cosby showed up on a taping day wearing one of the sweaters.

The taping created such a stir that late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel had Nathan on to discuss the idea.

The McDaniel campaign originally denied any prior knowledge of the taping.

Historical Examples

I would advise no one to attempt the Russian method of taping the jaws while the wolf is held by the seizers.

Box sextant, used as giving angular accuracy to any of the foregoing; most useful with taping, and in following.

Lifting and carrying and shoving; cornering and taping and lacing—it seemed as though the afternoon would never wear to an end.

Scotty spent the time on a small repair job, taping up the neoprene gasoline hoses that carried fuel to the houseboat motors.

In Lockley's state of mind, the taping took away all authority from the voices.

tape

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for taping

tape

n.

tape

v.

Idioms and Phrases with taping

tape

Origin of tape