tattoo
1 Americannoun
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a signal on a drum, bugle, or trumpet at night, for soldiers or sailors to go to their quarters.
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a knocking or strong pulsation.
My heart beat a tattoo on my ribs.
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British. an outdoor military pageant or display.
noun
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the act or practice of marking the skin with indelible patterns, pictures, legends, etc., by making punctures in it and inserting pigments.
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a pattern, picture, legend, etc., so made.
verb (used with object)
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to mark (the skin) with tattoos.
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to put (tattoos) on the skin.
noun
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(formerly) a signal by drum or bugle ordering the military to return to their quarters
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a military display or pageant, usually at night
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any similar beating on a drum, etc
verb
noun
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a design made by this process
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the practice of tattooing
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have tattooedperfect
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has tattooedperfect 3rd person singular
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have been tattooingperfect progressive
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am tattooingprogressive 1st person singular
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tattooingparticiple
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tattoossingular 3rd person
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has been tattooingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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are tattooingprogressive
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is tattooingprogressive 3rd person singular
Past
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were tattooingprogressive plural
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had tattooedperfect
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was tattooingprogressive singular
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had been tattooingperfect progressive
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tattooedparticiple
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tattooedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of tattoo1
First recorded in 1570–80; earlier taptoo, from Dutch taptoe, literally, “shut tap,” from tap “spigot, tap” + toe “closed, shut”; cognate with tap 2 ( def. ), to ( def. )
Origin of tattoo2
First recorded in 1760–70; from Marquesan tatu; replacing tattow, from Tahitian tatau
Explanation
A tattoo is a permanent design made on skin with a needle and ink. If you want a butterfly tattoo but you're scared of needles, you might settle for a temporary version. The word tattoo is also a verb meaning stain the skin using needles and ink. It's probably a good idea to wait until you've been dating someone for more than a week before you tattoo their name on your arm. In music, a tattoo is continuous drumming, and a military tattoo is a drum or bugle that signals soldiers to return to their quarters at the end of the day.
Vocabulary lists containing tattoo
"The Tell-Tale Heart," Vocabulary from the short story
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Commonly Misspelled Words, List 1
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The early pieces that established his reputation were dioramas of local spots around Grangeville, such as a tattoo parlor, a pawn show and a Dairy Queen.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026
Mr. Platner has said his now infamous chest tattoo was a drunken mistake and that he didn’t realize the symbol was associated with Nazis.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026
After the Reddit posts and the Nazi tattoo, he said, he had no “big, dark secret” left to conceal.
From Slate • Jun. 2, 2026
It was an eclectic crowd, from tattoo artists to punk rockers to parents with their teen children.
From BBC • May 29, 2026
His sleeves are rolled all the way down today, so I don’t see his compass tattoo.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
