Reel-to-reel

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A machine that records sound onto, or plays sound from, tape wound on one reel, by feeding it through to another reel.

    "Costume changes performed with poise / Dancing in formation with a couple of boys / I take them on the road with my reel-to-reels / I'm an artist, honey, you know how that feels?"

Example

More examples

"Costume changes performed with poise / Dancing in formation with a couple of boys / I take them on the road with my reel-to-reels / I'm an artist, honey, you know how that feels?"

Etymology

Originally descriptive, used in reel-to-reel recorder and like phrases, then shortened.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.