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, tap·ing.

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, tap·ing.

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. Alsotape-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

Derived Forms

• ˈtaper, noun
• ˈtapeˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• tapeless adjective
• tapelike adjective
• pre·tape verb (used with object) pretaped pretaping
• re·tape verb (used with object) retaped retaping
• un·taped adjective

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

Yes, washi tape is cute and that should be a good enough reason to get some.

From Popular-Science

Using a flexible tailors measuring tape you should wrap the tape around the circumference of your hand around the palm.

From Popular-Science

There are mask mandates and tape around desks, an attempt to ensure that no one breaches the six-foot social-distancing rule.

From Washington Post

In the 45 cases we examined, the harshest penalty any officer received was a loss of 15 vacation days — for punching a teenager and knocking him unconscious in an incident caught on tape that went viral.

From ProPublica

We’ve often speculated that guys who don’t have much tape might have an unexpected advantage in that first game out.

From FiveThirtyEight

My agent at the time sent that tape to SNL and then they asked me to come in for an audition.

From The Daily Beast

I stood with a tape recorder, listening to men denounce the liberal media controlled by Jews.

From The Daily Beast

Is there any better Beyoncé lyric to use in response to the most shocking celebrity tape this side of One Night in Paris?

From The Daily Beast

I watched Garner die on tape and wondered why I was crying so hard when I am not that much of a cryer at all.

From The Daily Beast

Well, because casinos have cameras everywhere, turns out there was indeed a tape.

From The Daily Beast

He gets out and does things while these fatheads stay in quarters and untangle red tape.

From Project Gutenberg

A handkerchief, once red, with polka spots, contained a ragged flannel shirt and a stocking-heel tied with a piece of tape.

From Project Gutenberg

Black Hood knew what it was to be a policeman with hands bound by red tape or political intrigue.

From Project Gutenberg

He ripped the tape clear and then paused, hand outflung, as if he could not resist this final bit of drama.

From Project Gutenberg

Even for doctors to obtain it is an undertaking involving considerable red tape.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• line
• rope