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videotape

noun, verb

videotape is a noun meaning “A relatively wide magnetic tape used for recording visual images and sounds (as of a television production) for subsequent playback or broadcasting” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled V-I-D-E-O-T-A-P-E and has 4 syllables, and it appears 1.2 times per million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data). The plural of videotape is videotapes.

What does videotape mean?

noun

  1. 1

    A relatively wide magnetic tape used for recording visual images and sounds (as of a television production) for subsequent playback or broadcasting.

  2. 2

    Synonym of videocassette (“cassette containing videotape”).

verb

  1. 1

    to make a recording of something on videotape

  2. 2

    To visually record (activity, or a motion picture) in general, with or without sound.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you pronounce videotape?

  • US

Videotape has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-videotape.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of videotape

  • videotapes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • videotaping participle, present
  • videotaped participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How common is videotape?

Videotape appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,092nd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

Words people confuse with videotape

Also written: video-tape (one word or two).

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

How do you abbreviate videotape?

Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of videotape: VT, vid.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Videotape in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchbande vidéo, vidéocassette (tape used to record videos)
GermanVideoband (tape used to record videos)
Portuguesevideo-tape, videotape, videoteipe, fita de vídeo (tape used to record videos), gravar em vídeo, videogravar (to make a recording on videotape)
Spanishvideo, cinta de video (tape used to record videos), grabar en video, videograbar (to make a recording on videotape)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does videotape come from?

From video + tape, a trademark of media company Ampex.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).