1 [noncount] : a long, narrow piece of material that is sticky on one side and that is used to stick things together or to cover or repair something
▪ adhesive/packing tape ▪ a piece of tape ▪ His eyeglasses are held together with tape. — see also duct tape, masking tape 2 a [noncount] : a thin piece of plastic that is coated with magnetic material on which information (such as sound or television images) may be stored
▪ The show was recorded on tape. —called also magnetic tape
b [count] : something recorded on tape
▪ We watched a tape [=recording] of a program/concert. ▪ I was listening to a tape in the car. —called also tape recording
c [count] : a thin case that contains a long piece of magnetic tape on which something is recorded : cassette
▪ an audio tape ▪ She stuck a tape in the VCR. — see also videotape 3 the tape : a long, thin piece of material that is stretched across the finish line of a race
▪ She broke the tape [=she finished first in the race] in record time. 4 [count] : tape measure 5 [noncount] : a long, thin piece of plastic, paper, or cloth
▪ The crime scene was marked off with yellow police tape.