tapes

Noun

tape (countable and uncountable, plural tapes)

1. Flexible material in a roll with a sticky surface on one or both sides; adhesive tape.
   • Hand me some tape. I need to fix a tear in this paper.
2. Thin and flat paper, plastic or similar flexible material, usually produced in the form of a roll.
   • We made some decorative flowers out of the tape we bought.
3. Finishing tape, stretched across a track to mark the end of a race.
   • Jones broke the tape in 47.77 seconds, a new world record.
4. Magnetic or optical recording media in a roll; videotape or audio tape.
   • Did you get that on tape?
5. (broadly, informal) Any video or audio recording, regardless of the method used to produce it.
   • “It was one of the most severe beatings they’ve seen on tape,” an FDNY insider said, recalling the reaction by brass who viewed video of the bloody fisticuffs.2018 August 18, Susan Edelman, New York Post
6. (informal) An unthinking, patterned response triggered by a particular stimulus.
   • Old couples will sometimes play tapes at each other during a fight.

See all 14 meanings of tape