Meanings
nounsex tape (plural sex tapes)
plural sex tapes · alternative sextape
- A video recording of a sex act, especially one starring a celebrity.
The series uses the scandal — which begot fortunes, ruined lives and made the celebrity sex tape a defining artifact of the internet age — as a guide through a transitional period in American culture.
2022 February 2, Elisabeth Vincentelli, “‘Pam & Tommy’: A Story of Sex, Crimes and Videotape”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Origin
Formerly recorded on video cassette tape.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
sex tape. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sex%20tape
MLA
“sex tape.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sex%20tape. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sex tape,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sex%20tape.
Source: sex tape on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.