Tape (?), n. [AS. tæppe a fillet. Cf. Tapestry, Tippet.] 1. A narrow fillet or band of cotton or linen; a narrow woven fabric used for strings and the like; as, curtains tied with tape.
2. A tapeline; also, a metallic ribbon so marked as to serve as a tapeline; as, a steel tape.
Red tape. See under Red. — Tape grass(Bot.), a plant (Vallisneria spiralis) with long ribbonlike leaves, growing in fresh or brackish water; — called also fresh-water eelgrass, and, in Maryland, wild celery. — Tape needle. See Bodkin, n., 4.