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tape

Pronunciation: /teɪp/
Translate tape | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of tape

noun

[mass noun]
  • 1a narrow strip of material, typically used to hold or fasten something:a reel of tape [count noun]:a dirty apron fastened with thin tapes
  • (also adhesive tape or British sticky tape) a strip of paper or plastic coated with adhesive and sold in a roll, used to stick things together: secure the bandage with tape double-sided sticky tape
  • [count noun] a strip of material stretched across the finishing line of a race, to be broken or dislodged by the winner.
  • a strip of material used to mark off an area or form a notional barrier.
  • [count noun] a tape measure.
  • 2 [often with modifier] long, narrow flexible material with magnetic properties, used for recording sound, pictures, or computer data:they put four songs on tape
  • [count noun] a cassette or reel containing magnetic tape for recording: he inserted a tape in the recorder
  • [count noun] a recording on a cassette or reel: a tape of a radio talk

verb

[with object]
  • 1record (sound or pictures) on audio or video tape:it is not known who taped the conversation
  • 2fasten or attach (something) with adhesive tape: a note taped to the fridge
  • (tape something off) seal or mark off an area or thing with tape: they taped off an area round the scene of the explosion

Phrases

breast the tape

British win a race.

have (or get) someone/thing taped

British informal understand a person or thing fully.

Origin:

Old English tæppa, tæppe; perhaps related to Middle Low German teppen 'pluck, tear'

tape in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of tape in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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