ink
Americannoun
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a fluid or viscous substance used for writing or printing.
-
a dark, protective fluid ejected by the cuttlefish and other cephalopods.
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Slang. a tattoo or tattoos.
Oh, nice, you got new ink!
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Informal. publicity, especially in print media.
Their construction plans got some ink in the local paper.
verb (used with object)
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inks,
present (3rd person singular)
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inked,
past participle, past
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inking
present participle
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to mark, stain, cover, or smear with ink.
to ink one's clothes.
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Informal. to sign one's name to (an official document).
We expect to ink the contract tomorrow.
verb (used with or without object)
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inks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
inked,
past participle, past
-
inking
present participle
noun
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a fluid or paste used for printing, writing, and drawing
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a dark brown fluid ejected into the water for self-concealment by an octopus or related mollusc from a gland ( ink sac ) near the anus
verb
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to mark with ink
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to coat (a printing surface) with ink
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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inksimple
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inkssimple
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have inkedperfect
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has inkedperfect
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am inkingprogressive
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are inkingprogressive
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is inkingprogressive
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have been inkingperfect progressive
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has been inkingperfect progressive
Past
-
inkedsimple
-
had inkedperfect
-
was inkingprogressive
-
were inkingprogressive
-
had been inkingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ink
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English inke, inc, enke, from Old French enca, enque, ancre, from Late Latin encautum, variant of encaustum “burnt in, painted in,” from Greek énkauston “purple ink (used for imperial signatures),” noun use of neuter of énkaustos “burnt in”; see encaustic
Explanation
Ink is a colored liquid that you use to write with on paper. When you sign on the dotted line, you usually do so with ink. You'll usually find ink inside a pen, automatically flowing through its tip, although years ago people had to dip a quill into a pot of ink to write with ink. Other ways ink is used include printing images, stamping information, and drawing pictures. Another ink is the fluid released by certain mollusks, like squids, to hide them from predators. Ink, from the Old French encre, "dark writing fluid," has the Greek root enkaiein, "to burn in."
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.
See Examples For:
The group continued to ink deals after the first half came to a close.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Such an agreement would likely spur an industrywide price war and fierce competition for customers — the main reason why the biggest three operators have vowed not to ink this sort of partnership.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026
At least one image captures a tattoo of the name “David” in red ink on Hernandez’s finger.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Joyce said the tattoo breakdown occurs when a laser targets the ink particles and shatters them into more manageable particles for your immune system to metabolise.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
The envelopes were thick, made of celestial-blue paper, and her name was written in gold ink.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
The new monochrome packages will go on sale in Japan May 25, Calbee said, blaming difficulties procuring raw materials such as naphtha, a petrochemical used in paints and inks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
The CEO of Blick Art Materials told Hyperallergic that the company had “purchased more inventory than normal for a few product lines to hedge against higher costs,” such as paints, inks, and utensils.
From Slate ● Mar. 8, 2025
The studios didn’t then have screeners or digital inks for their films, so a run at the Malibu Cinema was a good way to reach Oscar voters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 3, 2025
The resulting flexible board withstood all sorts of electronics manufacturing processes, including cutting shapes into the boards with lasers, printing circuits on top of them with commercially used silver inks, and soldering components to them.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 24, 2024
The tattoo artist sat before him on a stool with his pan of inks nearby.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
The most popular body part to be inked?
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Among the new contracts was a 5.7-billion-euro deal with the Romanian military inked in June, the company's largest international contract in recent history.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
More recently, Louisiana officials recently inked a secret agreement with Meta to build a five-mile-long data center in the state.
From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2026
Despite the coalition’s effort to introduce AI guardrails, some labels involved have already inked partnerships with AI companies such as Suno, Udio and Nvidia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
Instead it is a picture, inked in black and white and shades of grey.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Díaz was the high-profile free agent the Dodgers signed to lock down the ninth inning for the next three seasons, inking him to a $69-million deal to do it, a record for relievers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Every tattooed person he interviewed in the 2000s for his research cited David Beckham as their inspiration; the footballer made a statement when he got his first inking in 1999.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
And the DOD hasn’t limited itself to mining, inking a $1 billion investment in defense contractor L3Harris’s Missile Solutions unit in exchange for convertible equity.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
Instead—during a summer when other players were inking deals north of $250 million—Brunson sat in the NBA’s bargain bin, and the Knicks could scoop him at just the 46th-highest salary in the league.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
He too\ the mountain roc\ to carve into inking stones.
From "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin
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.
