audiotape

/ˌɔdioʊˈteɪp/

Other forms: audiotapes

An audiotape is a magnetic strip with sounds recorded on it. It is also the word for the small plastic case in which the strip is wound on a reel and played back in a cassette player.

To some people, an audiotape is an unfamiliar, outdated technology, as other technologies for recording and playing back sounds are more common now. But audiotapes were the dominant medium for recording and listening to music and other audio recordings in the 1970s and '80s. An audiotape, also called a cassette tape, is small enough to be easily carried in a bag or pocket. People played them on portable music players, which were often built right into their cars' dashboards. This technology made it possible to easily take music anywhere you went.

Definitions of audiotape

1. noun

   a long, thin plastic strip treated with iron oxide, used to record sound
   type of:

   mag tape, magnetic tape, tape

   memory device consisting of a long thin plastic strip coated with iron oxide; used to record audio or video signals or to store computer information
2. noun

   a recording of sound on a long thin plastic strip treated with iron oxide, wound up in a small plastic case
   types:

   DAT, digital audiotape

   a digital tape recording of sound

   type of:

   audio, audio recording, sound recording

   a recording of acoustic signals

   tape, tape recording, taping

   a recording made on magnetic tape