teɪp n. & v. --n. 1 a
narrow strip of
woven material for tying up,
fastening, etc. 2 a a strip of material stretched
across the finishing line of a race. b a
similar strip for
marking off an
area or forming a
notional barrier. 3 (in full
adhesive tape) a strip of
opaque or
transparent paper or
plastic etc.,
esp. coated
with adhesive for fastening, sticking, masking, insulating, etc. 4 a =
magnetic tape. b a tape
recording or tape
cassette. 5 = tape-measure. --v.tr. 1 a
tie up or
join etc. with tape. b
apply tape
to. 2 (foll. by off) seal or mark off an area or
thing with tape. 3
record on magnetic tape. 4
measure with tape. øbreast the tape
win a race.
have (or get) a
person or thing taped
Brit. colloq.
understand a person or thing
fully. on tape recorded on magnetic tape. tape
deck a
platform with capstans for using magnetic tape. tape
machine a machine for receiving
and recording
telegraph messages. tape-measure a strip of tape or
thin flexible metal marked for measuring lengths. tape-record record (sounds) on magnetic tape. tape
recorder apparatus for recording sounds on magnetic tape and
afterwards reproducing
them. tape recording a recording on magnetic tape. øøtapeable adj. (esp. in
sense 3 of v.). tapeless adj. tapelike adj. [OE tóppa, tóppe, of unkn. orig.]
