tapes

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of tape.

   The detectives reviewed the surveillance tapes for clues.

   She labeled all the cassette tapes before storing them away.

   Note

   The plural fits the countable senses most naturally: surveillance tapes, cassette tapes, a box of old tapes. When tape means the sticky or flexible material itself, it is often uncountable. You buy some tape, not a tape, so there the plural picks out separate rolls or different kinds. The same spelling also serves as the verb's he-she-it form, as in she tapes the boxes, and only the sentence tells them apart.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of tape.

   He tapes every interview so he can transcribe it later.

   She tapes the boxes shut before the movers arrive.

   Note

   One form covers every verb sense of tape, and the words after it usually show which one is meant. Binding often takes a result word after the object: she tapes the boxes shut. Recording takes the thing captured: he tapes every interview. There is also an informal meaning, to understand or figure something out. Only he, she, it or a singular noun takes this form. Plural subjects and infinitives use plain tape.

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