cassette

American  

[kuh-set, ka-] / kəˈsɛt, kæ- /

noun

1. Also called cassette tape.  a compact case containing a length of magnetic tape that runs between two small reels: used for recording or playback of audio or video in a tape recorder, cassette deck, video camera, or VCR, and for storage of data by some small computer systems.

2. Photography. a lightproof metal or plastic container for a roll of film, having a single spool for supplying and rewinding the film.

3. a replaceable or refillable cartridge in a typewriter or printer that contains the ribbon or ink.

4. a case or tray in a printer or copier that holds the paper.

---

cassette British  

/ kæˈsɛt /

noun

1. 1. a plastic container for magnetic tape, as one inserted into a tape deck

   2. ( as modifier )

      a cassette recorder

2. photog another term for cartridge

3. films a container for film used to facilitate the loading of a camera or projector, esp when the film is used in the form of a loop

4. the injection of genes from one species into the fertilized egg of another species

---

Etymology

Origin of cassette

1955–60; < French, equivalent to casse “box” ( case ² ) + -ette -ette

Example Sentences

Unlike turntables, which have become increasingly high-tech thanks to the “vinyl revival” of the last 20 years, almost all cassette players in current production rely on the same, basic tape mechanism from Taiwan, Richardson explains.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026

By inserting itself into these plasmids, the cassette disrupts the resistance genes and makes the bacteria vulnerable to antibiotics again.

From Science Daily • Feb. 18, 2026

When I first flew on a one-way ticket to Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 1993, I arrived with no job, no contacts and no Thai beyond a few phrases acquired from a military language instruction cassette.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026

Introduced in the 1980s, Teddy Ruxpin told stories aloud when a tape cassette was inserted into the animatronic bear’s back.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 24, 2025

I hadn’t meant to play the tape, but since I was there all by myself, an impulse made me get the cassette out of my collection box and put it into the player.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

Related Words

• tape