: of, relating to, or utilizing magnetic tape that requires threading on a take-up reel
a reel-to-reel tape recorder

Examples of reel-to-reel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
There was space for storing LPs or for an optional Ampex 1250 reel-to-reel tape recorder. Allison Marsh, IEEE Spectrum, 24 Jan. 2026 Farr recorded the album on vintage TASCAM multi-track recorders and did his overdubs on reel-to-reel tape, a finicky process that stretches the tape and imbues the music with the ghosts of previous takes. Jayson Greene, Pitchfork, 14 Jan. 2026 Never is that more apparent than in the central scene that establishes the deeply nostalgic emotional stakes of the movie, when Clark accidentally gets trapped in the attic for the morning and winds up entertaining himself with reel-to-reel movies of his childhood Christmases. Kevin Doughten, HollywoodReporter, 23 Dec. 2025 The three-song reel-to-reel was first mailed off to their teacher Alan Sondheim, who had a radio show on WBAI in New York City, according to an interview with Frantz in The Boston Globe. Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, 25 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for reel-to-reel

Word History

First Known Use

1961, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of reel-to-reel was in 1961

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Cite this Entry

“Reel-to-reel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reel-to-reel. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.

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