fight the tape

verb

To make a trade contrary to the overall tendency of prices, i.e., to buy when prices are generally falling or sell when prices are generally rising.

“I kept buying hoping the price would go up, but I eventually decided I was fighting the tape.”

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Meanings

verbfight the tape (third-person singular simple present fights the tape, present participle fighting the tape, simple past and past participle fought the tape)

present singular third person fights the tape · participle present fighting the tape · participle past fought the tape · past fought the tape

  1. businessTo make a trade contrary to the overall tendency of prices, i.e., to buy when prices are generally falling or sell when prices are generally rising.

    I kept buying hoping the price would go up, but I eventually decided I was fighting the tape.

Origin

From the early 20th-century practice of printing stock prices on ticker tape.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

fight the tape. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fight%20the%20tape

MLA

“fight the tape.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fight%20the%20tape. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fight the tape,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fight%20the%20tape.

Source: fight the tape on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.