magnetic tape

noun

1. a ribbon of material, usually with a plastic base, coated on one side single tape or both sides double tape with a substance containing iron oxide, to make it sensitive to impulses from an electromagnet: used to record sound, images, data, etc.

magnetic tape

noun

1. a long narrow plastic or metal strip coated or impregnated with a ferromagnetic material such as iron oxide, used to record sound or video signals or to store information in computers Sometimes (informal) shortened tomag tape

magnetic tape

1. A plastic tape coated with iron oxide for use in magnetic recording.

magnetic tape

1. A device for storing information, in which signals are recorded by lining up small bits of magnetic materials in the coating on the tape. Ordinary tape recorders use magnetic tape.

Word History and Origins

Origin of magnetic tape¹

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

When they’re stored as dried crystals, the molecules’ lifespans could outlast even modern storage media—perhaps in the thousands of years compared to current hard drives’ and magnetic tapes’ 10 to 20.

From Popular-Science

Unlike magnetic tape designs of yesteryear, today’s voice recorders record to internal flash media or SD cards to deliver better file organization and compatibility with computers.

From Popular-Science

To match magnetic tape, a common method of archival data storage, Bathe estimates synthesis costs would have to fall six orders of magnitude.

From Singularity Hub 

With blank cassettes, listeners could record their favorite songs from the radio or from vinyl records, creating the first mix tapes — on literal magnetic tape — decades before digital playlists were shared on streaming services such as Spotify.

From Washington Post

Lou Ottens was fiddling with a reel-to-reel tape recorder one night in the early 1960s, trying to thread a wafer-thin piece of magnetic tape through mechanical guides so that he could listen to .

From Washington Post

Another unit returned was a cartridge magnetic-tape system built by SDS.

From Project Gutenberg

The high point labeled "T" represents a system having many high-speed magnetic tape drives.

From Project Gutenberg

Magnetic tape units require twenty-two inches per transport.

From Project Gutenberg

These routines include various format print outs, paper tape and magnetic tape read in programs, and display subroutines.

From Project Gutenberg

The recorder would take the pick-up and register it on magnetic tape, while playing it for simultaneous listening.

From Project Gutenberg