mixtape

noun

mix·​tape ˈmiks-ˌtāp 

variants or less commonly mix tape

plural mixtapes also mix tapes

1

: a noncommercial compilation of songs copied (as onto a cassette tape or a CD) from various sources

In high school, I'd be making mixtapes for friends and girls instead of doing my homework, spending hours perfecting how a Smiths song and Joy Division song and Pixies song would convey the way I feel.

—Aaron Axelsen, quoted at SFGate.com

Writers like Nick Hornby have imbued the cassette tape with considerable romance, in particular the mix tape created for a loved one. In practice, these were often recorded directly from the radio, requiring your typical suburban suitor to sit around for hours on end, waiting for the desired track to appear.

—Richard Glover

2

: an album that is usually recorded and distributed without the involvement of a record label

The mixtape is an unofficial release. It might be tied to an imprint or a label, but it doesn't necessarily appear in stores. In fact, most of them can be purchased only on the streets, at the clubs, from the trunks of cars or from the artists themselves.

—Lance Scott Walker

Long before rap got any radio love, mixtapes were the main form of distribution, the currency that kept everything in rotation as the culture evolved.

—Sidney Madden and Rodney Carmichael

High-fidelity and laden with hits, So Far Gone had the sheen of a professional studio album, and it popularized the idea of mixtapes as low-pressure showcases for burgeoning artists.

—Jonah Bromwich

Examples of mixtape in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Alphonse Pierre’s Off the Dome column covers songs, mixtapes, albums, scenes, snippets, movies, Meek Mill tweets, fashion trends—and anything else that catches his attention. —Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 17 Oct. 2025

For the Colombian American powerhouse, this moment represents the culmination of a decadelong rise — from an indie darling crafting mixtapes in her Virginia bedroom to a superstar reshaping the boundaries of motherhood, biculturalism and fame. —Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 16 Oct. 2025

The musical began as a mixtape album before it was developed for the stage and opened on Broadway in 2015. —Carly Thomas, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2025

The release serves as a companion album to PinkPantheress’ 2025 mixtape Fancy That, which was named one of Rolling Stone’s Best Albums of 2025 So Far. —Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 8 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1985, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for mixtape

• agape
• escape
• landscape
• lenape
• reshape
• seascape
• soundscape
• ape
• cape
• crape
• crepe
• drape