sellotape

S1E1L1L1O1T1A1P3E1
/ˈsɛləteɪp/

noun

Adhesive tape.

Similar
Scotch tapesticky tapecellulose tape
OriginEnglish Sellotape ← Middle English tape ← Old English tæppa →
UncommonScrabble 11
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

sellotape1

nounsellotape (countable and uncountable, plural sellotapes)

plural sellotapes

  1. CommonwealthIrelandUKcountableuncountableAdhesive tape.

    Synonyms: Scotch tape, sticky tape

verbsellotape (third-person singular simple present sellotapes, present participle sellotaping, simple past and past participle sellotaped)

present singular third person sellotapes · participle present sellotaping · participle past sellotaped · past sellotaped

  1. AustraliaIrelandNew ZealandUKtransitiveTo seal with adhesive tape.

    The door was slightly ajar, with a newspaper cartoon sellotaped to it:

    2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 258

Sellotape2

nounSellotape (usually uncountable, plural Sellotapes)

plural Sellotapes

  1. AustraliaIrelandNew ZealandUKuncountableusuallyA brand of adhesive tape (and similar products) similar to Scotch tape (US).

    Synonyms: Scotch tape, sticky tape

verbSellotape (third-person singular simple present Sellotapes, present participle Sellotaping, simple past and past participle Sellotaped)

present singular third person Sellotapes · participle present Sellotaping · participle past Sellotaped · past Sellotaped

  1. Alternative letter-case form of sellotape.

    On one car he Sellotaped the ticket over the windscreen wiper.

    1983, Joel Richman, Traffic Wardens: An Ethnography of Street Administration, Manchester University Press, →ISBN, page 69
    3 more examples

    He stood on his bed then Sellotaped the mermaid picture on to his wall so she would be the first thing he would see when he woke up.

    2009, Janis Mackay, Magnus Fin and the Ocean Quest, Kelpies, published 2011, →ISBN

    She Sellotaped the stems back on but they just fell off again.

    2013, Ella Griffin, A Little Bit of Summer, Orion Books, →ISBN

    ‘Didn’t they tell you about the pipe leakage problem there?’ ‘Yeah, I Sellotaped it.’ She stared at him. ‘You Sellotaped it?’ ‘Yeah, I just Sellotaped the shit out of it.’

    2017, Debashish Irengbam, Charlie Next Door, HarperCollins, →ISBN

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAdhesive tape.

Similar
Scotch tapesticky tape

nounA brand of adhesive tape (and similar products) similar to Scotch tape (US).

Similar
Scotch tapesticky tape

More synonyms by meaning

nountransparent or semitransparent adhesive tape (trade names Scotch tape and Sellotape) used for sealing or attaching or mending

Similar
cellulose tapeScotch tape
Broader
adhesive tape

verbfasten or attach with sellotape

Similar
scotch tape
Broader
tape
Also see
adhesive tapedurexscotch tapesticky tape

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

sellotape · noun, verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱel-
  2. Latincella
  3. Latincellula
  4. Frenchcellule
  5. Proto-Indo-European*h₃ed-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*h₃édosder.?
  7. Frenchcellulose
  8. Englishcellulose
  9. Proto-Indo-European*dwóh₁
  10. Proto-Indo-European*trísinflu.
  11. Proto-Indo-European*dwís
  12. Ancient Greekδιά (diá)
  13. Ancient Greekδῐᾰ- (dĭă-)
  14. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂-
  15. Proto-Indo-European*bʰh₂nyéti
  16. Proto-Hellenic*pʰáňňō
  17. Ancient Greekφαίνω (phaínō)
  18. Ancient Greekδῐᾰφαίνω (dĭăphaínō)
  19. Ancient Greekδῐᾰφᾰνής (dĭăphănḗs)
  20. Medieval Latindiaphanus
  21. Middle Frenchdiaphane
  22. Englishdiaphane
  23. Englishcellophane
  24. Old Englishtæppa
  25. Middle Englishtape
  26. Englishtape
  27. EnglishSellotape
  28. Englishsellotape

Genericized trademark from Sellotape, a blend of cellophane + tape. The spelling with S- was to avoid an existing trademark on the word Cellophane itself.

Full word history & related roots →

Sellotape · noun, verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱel-
  2. Latincella
  3. Latincellula
  4. Frenchcellule
  5. Proto-Indo-European*h₃ed-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*h₃édosder.?
  7. Frenchcellulose
  8. Englishcellulose
  9. Proto-Indo-European*dwóh₁
  10. Proto-Indo-European*trísinflu.
  11. Proto-Indo-European*dwís
  12. Ancient Greekδιά (diá)
  13. Ancient Greekδῐᾰ- (dĭă-)
  14. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂-
  15. Proto-Indo-European*bʰh₂nyéti
  16. Proto-Hellenic*pʰáňňō
  17. Ancient Greekφαίνω (phaínō)
  18. Ancient Greekδῐᾰφαίνω (dĭăphaínō)
  19. Ancient Greekδῐᾰφᾰνής (dĭăphănḗs)
  20. Medieval Latindiaphanus
  21. Middle Frenchdiaphane
  22. Englishdiaphane
  23. Englishcellophane
  24. Old Englishtæppa
  25. Middle Englishtape
  26. Englishtape
  27. EnglishSellotape

Brand name, from cellophane tape. The first letter was changed to avoid infringing the then-extant trademark on cellophane.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Welsh selotepio
  • selotepioseal with adhesive tape

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

soleplate
Cite this entry
APA

sellotape. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sellotape

MLA

“sellotape.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sellotape. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sellotape,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sellotape.

Source: sellotape on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.