videotape
videotape — noun
1. A long strip of magnetic material inside a plastic housing, designed to store mo
A long strip of magnetic material inside a plastic housing, designed to store moving images and the sounds that go with them so they can be played back later.
Grandpa keeps boxes of old videotape under his bed.
uncountable: boxes of videotape (medium, not cassette)
The library had shelves full of videotape recordings from the 1980s.
Before digital cameras, most families bought videotape to record birthday parties.
Yan found a dusty videotape of her parents' wedding in the attic.
The old videotape had worn so much that white lines flickered across the screen.
- magnetic tape
more general term; also used for audio and computer data storage
- recording tape
emphasises the purpose but is less common in everyday talk
- digital storage
the modern replacement (memory cards, hard drives, cloud)
文法句型
a length/roll/reel of videotape
on videotape
用法筆記
In everyday speech, 'videotape' often refers to the whole cassette rather than just the tape inside. This meaning (the magnetic strip itself) is more common in technical or retail contexts, such as buying 'a spool of videotape'.
常見錯誤
2. A rectangular plastic box that holds a length of magnetic tape and is made to fi
A rectangular plastic box that holds a length of magnetic tape and is made to fit into a video player so that recorded programmes, films, or home movies can be watched on a television.
Dahlia put the videotape into the VCR and pressed play.
collocation: put + videotape + into + VCR
Brian rewound the videotape before returning it to the video shop.
The videotape got stuck inside the machine, so Nila had to open the lid carefully.
Cyrus bought three blank videotapes at the electronics store.
Mathieu wrote the programme name on each videotape with a marker.
- video cassette
more formal; refers clearly to the cassette as a packaged product
- cassette
shorter; context must clarify whether audio or video
- VHS tape
brand-specific term that became generic for the most common videotape format
- DVD
the optical-disc format that largely replaced videotape
- digital file
modern replacement without physical cassette
文法句型
a/one/two videotape(s)
put/insert a videotape into [machine]
用法筆記
Often shortened to 'tape' in informal speech ('a box of old tapes'). The phrase 'on videotape' can refer to either the cassette or the medium; context determines which.
常見錯誤
videotape — verb
1. To capture images and sound onto magnetic tape using a video camera or recorder,
To capture images and sound onto magnetic tape using a video camera or recorder, so that a film, television show, or real-life event can be watched again later.
Indra's mother videotaped every school play that Indra performed in.
The wedding ceremony was videotaped by a local news team.
passive: be videotaped by [agent]
Élise asked her neighbour to videotape the concert since she had to leave early.
Ritu videotaped her little brother tearing open his birthday presents.
Lucía loves watching the old family films her father videotaped in the 1990s.
文法句型
videotape + [event/programme/person]
be videotaped by [someone]
用法筆記
Commonly used in the past tense ('videotaped'). In current English, 'record' or 'film' (verb) are more frequent because videotape has been replaced by digital media. 'Tape' is a common informal shorter form ('I taped the show').