figure vs tape

figure

verb
  • To come to understand. 

  • To represent by a metaphor; to signify or symbolize. 

  • To write over or under the bass, as figures or other characters, in order to indicate the accompanying chords. 

  • To calculate, to solve a mathematical problem. 

  • To enter into; to be a part of. 

  • To think, to assume, to suppose, to reckon. 

  • To embellish with design; to adorn with figures. 

  • To embellish. 

  • To be reasonable. 

noun
  • A visible pattern as in wood or cloth. 

  • A number, an amount. 

  • A drawing or diagram conveying information. 

  • A human figure, which dress or corset must fit to; the shape of a human body. 

  • A form of melody or accompaniment kept up through a strain or passage; a motif; a florid embellishment. 

  • The form of a syllogism with respect to the relative position of the middle term. 

  • A figure of speech. 

  • The appearance or impression made by the conduct or career of a person. 

  • A person or thing representing a certain consciousness. 

  • A numeral. 

  • A horoscope; the diagram of the aspects of the astrological houses. 

  • Any short succession of notes, either as melody or as a group of chords, which produce a single complete and distinct impression. 

  • The representation of any form, as by drawing, painting, modelling, carving, embroidering, etc.; especially, a representation of the human body. 

  • A shape. 

  • Any complex dance moveᵂ. 

tape

verb
  • To understand, figure out. 

  • To record, originally onto magnetic tape. 

  • To bind with adhesive tape. 

noun
  • Finishing tape, stretched across a track to mark the end of a race. 

  • Thin and flat paper, plastic or similar flexible material, usually produced in the form of a roll. 

  • The series of prices at which a financial instrument trades. 

  • Any video or audio recording, regardless of the method used to produce it. 

  • An unthinking, patterned response triggered by a particular stimulus. 

  • Magnetic or optical recording media in a roll; videotape or audio tape. 

  • Flexible material in a roll with a sticky surface on one or both sides; adhesive tape. 

  • The wrapping of the primary puck-handling surface of a hockey stick 

  • A strong flexible band rotating on pulleys for directing the sheets in a printing machine. 

How often have the words figure and tape occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )