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Glite Dictionary
to roll tape

to roll tape

1 5.6
To start recording video or sound
  • phrasal verb
  • /roʊl teɪp/
  • Archaic
translation icon : grabar
  • Stand by to roll tape in 30 seconds.
  • let's roll tape

Examples

  • And so I said we have to roll tape or we lose the band.

  • Okay, stand by to roll tape.

    Frost/Nixon (2008)

  • We roll tape on Monday.

    Spin (2007)

  • You want me to roll tape?

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Please get ready, we are about to roll tape for the documentary.

  • As soon as everyone is in position, we will roll tape.

  • The director asked the crew to roll tape before the performance started.

Synonyms

to film
vsto roll tape
415 1.0

To record moving pictures with a camera to make a movie

is limited to starting the recording rather than full production work
to tape
vsto roll tape
293 1.8

To record sound or images using a device

focuses on starting the recording rather than the ongoing capture
to video
vsto roll tape
11 3.2

To record moving pictures with a camera

is about starting the capture rather than the continuous filming
to tape record
vsto roll tape
  • Archaic
5 3.2

To put voices or sounds on tape to play them later

is about beginning the recording session rather than the general act
to rec
vsto roll tape
  • Informal
1 9.8

To make an audio or video file to use later

is specifically about beginning that capture rather than the general act
to vid
vsto roll tape
  • Slang
1 9.5

To record a video with a camera or phone

is about beginning the recording action rather than the casual act

Surface Forms

roll tape infinitive
rolled tape past
rolled tape past participle
rolling tape present participle
rolls tape third person singular

Morphology

roll + tape

The verb 'tape' already means 'to record', and combining it with 'roll' signals initiating that action (as in 'roll camera' or 'roll tape'), so part of the meaning is recoverable from the constituents. However, this is an industry-specific collocation and the motion sense of 'roll' is not fully literal; a B1 learner could misinterpret it as physically rolling tape without contextual/genre knowledge. Therefore the expression is partially predictable but requires exposure, making it semi-transparent.

Etymology

Roll tape comes from old tape recorders and video cameras. To start recording you had to make the long tape roll across the machine, so roll tape came to mean 'begin recording'.