reel-to-reel

American

[reel-tuh-reel] / ˈril təˈril /

adjective

of or relating to an audio sound-equipment system or motion-picture camera or projector through which the tape or film must be threaded onto a take-up reel.

reel-to-reel British

adjective

(of magnetic tape) wound from one reel to another in use
(of a tape recorder) using magnetic tape wound from one reel to another, as opposed to cassettes

"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

Etymology

Origin of reel-to-reel

First recorded in 1960–65

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.

But UT maintained its own archive on 12,000 reel-to-reel tapes.

From Science Magazine • Mar. 20, 2024

He kept in touch by sending Ruth reel-to-reel tape recordings, which Ndinda still treasures today.

From BBC • Dec. 15, 2023

The impeccably maintained midcentury modern home feels frozen in time, complete with botanical print wallpaper, teal lacquered kitchen cabinets and a reel-to-reel machine in Armstrong’s den.

From New York Times • Feb. 5, 2023

Whitefoot and another young woman working for the school district went to a second-story storage area to locate some reel-to-reel films, she recalled.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 18, 2022

He had two mismatched turntables plus a rickety old reel-to-reel tape player and shelves packed with records he’d collected over many years.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023