as in videotapes
a recording (as of a movie) for playback on a TV
the rival campaign leaked a tape of the senator angrily reprimanding a little boy for stepping on his foot
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Recent Examples of tapes
Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 2 Apr. 2026
The album, sourced from the record's original analog master tapes, was reissued in both vinyl and CD form in September.
—Edward Segarra, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2026
However, by the early 2000s, VHS tapes began to lose ground as DVDs offered better picture quality, smaller discs, and easier navigation.
—Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
The incident was chronicled in Jon Krakauer's 1997 book Into Thin Air, though the film's script pulled from a number of different sources, including then-unheard audio tapes between the climbers and base camp.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Mar. 2026
Police later told local reporters that security tapes from the day Bethany disappeared did not show the 11-year-old inside the mall.
—Chelsea Bailey, CNN Money, 28 Mar. 2026
Rolls of decorative tapes made from Japanese rice papers.
—Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026
To find the right actors for that job, Farris and her team sort through a mountain of self-tapes in the first round, asking people to improvise for two minutes on a specified topic.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 25 Mar. 2026
As for what happens next, the hundreds of audition tapes are sent off to CBS producers who will decide who gets into the house.
—Ashley Sharp, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026
Noun
Except someone did eventually hear it—the good folks at Freedom to Spend, known for reissuing all kinds of wonders from the experimental past, who took it upon themselves to sort through all 1200 tapes submitted to the ND zine over the course of its run before landing upon Larrison’s.
—Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 2 Apr. 2026
The album, sourced from the record's original analog master tapes, was reissued in both vinyl and CD form in September.
—Edward Segarra, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2026
However, by the early 2000s, VHS tapes began to lose ground as DVDs offered better picture quality, smaller discs, and easier navigation.
—Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
The incident was chronicled in Jon Krakauer's 1997 book Into Thin Air, though the film's script pulled from a number of different sources, including then-unheard audio tapes between the climbers and base camp.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Mar. 2026
Police later told local reporters that security tapes from the day Bethany disappeared did not show the 11-year-old inside the mall.
—Chelsea Bailey, CNN Money, 28 Mar. 2026
Rolls of decorative tapes made from Japanese rice papers.
—Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026
To find the right actors for that job, Farris and her team sort through a mountain of self-tapes in the first round, asking people to improvise for two minutes on a specified topic.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 25 Mar. 2026
As for what happens next, the hundreds of audition tapes are sent off to CBS producers who will decide who gets into the house.
—Ashley Sharp, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tapes
Noun
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Within weeks, sales of videotapes, CDs, and audio cassettes of her performance raised more than $500,000 for the American Red Cross Gulf Crisis Fund.—
Angela Andaloro,
PEOPLE,
3 Feb. 2026
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Living among vinyl records, books and videotapes – relics of a life once fully lived — Al finds his fragile balance shattered when a real estate company targets his home for demolition, forcing him to confront both material and emotional dispossession.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
20 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Pritzker's office said hundreds of videos and firsthand accounts of the immigration crackdown already had been collected in October when the commission was launched and will be preserved for use in future legal proceedings.—
Todd Feurer,
CBS News,
4 Apr. 2026
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His posts were either photos of himself and his wife or videos of himself at the gun range shooting targets.—
Amanda Rosa,
Miami Herald,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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To address this, Ivo uses a multi-step pipeline that chains together more than 400 model calls for each contract review.—
Charlie Fink,
Forbes.com,
20 Jan. 2026
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Tokyo Central is owned by Japanese company Pan Pacific Retail Management, which also runs the grocery chains Gelson’s and Don Quijote.—
John Metcalfe,
Mercury News,
3 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tapes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tapes. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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