tag
1 Americannoun
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a piece or strip of strong paper, plastic, metal, leather, etc., for attaching by one end to something as a mark or label.
The price is on the tag.
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any small hanging or loosely attached part or piece; tatter.
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a loop of material sewn on a garment so that it can be hung up.
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a metal or plastic tip at the end of a shoelace, cord, or the like.
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a license plate for a motor vehicle.
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Angling. a small piece of tinsel or the like tied to the shank of a hook at the body of an artificial fly.
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the tail end or concluding part, as of a proceeding.
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the last words of a speech, scene, act, etc., as in a play; a curtain line.
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Digital Technology.
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Also called sentinel. a symbol, mark, or other labeling device indicating the beginning or end of a unit of information.
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Also called markup tag. such a label or string of characters within angle brackets, used to specify format, structure, or style in an electronic document or web page.
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Also called semantic tag. such a label taking the form of a keyword or short phrase, used to classify or organize digital data, aid online searches, etc.
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an addition to a speech or writing, as the moral of a fable.
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a quotation added for special effect.
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a descriptive word or phrase applied to a person, group, organization, etc., as a label or means of identification; epithet.
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a trite phrase or saying; cliché.
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Slang. a person's name, nickname, initials, monogram, or symbol.
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a traffic ticket.
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a curlicue in writing.
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a lock of hair.
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a matted lock of wool on a sheep.
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Fox Hunting. the white tip of the tail of a fox.
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Obsolete. the rabble.
verb (used with object)
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to furnish with a tag or tags; attach a tag to.
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to append as a tag, addition, or afterthought to something else.
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to attach or give an epithet to; label.
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to accuse of a violation, especially of a traffic law; give a traffic ticket to.
He was tagged for speeding. The police officer tagged the cars for overtime parking.
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to hold answerable or accountable for something; attach blame to.
The pitcher was tagged with the loss of the game.
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to set a price on; fix the cost of.
The dealer tagged the boat at $500 less than the suggested retail price.
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to write graffiti on.
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Informal. to follow closely.
I tagged him to an old house on the outskirts of town.
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to remove the tags of wool from (a sheep).
verb (used without object)
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to follow closely; go along or about as a follower.
to tag after someone; to tag along behind someone.
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to write graffiti.
noun
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a children's game in which one player chases the others in an effort to touch one of them, who then takes the role of pursuer.
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Baseball. an act or instance of tagging a base runner.
verb (used with object)
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to touch in or as if in the game of tag.
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Baseball.
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to touch (a base runner) with the ball held in the hand or glove.
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to hit (a pitched ball) solidly.
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to make a number of hits or runs as specified in batting against (a pitcher).
They tagged him for two hits in the first and three hits and two runs in the third.
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Boxing. to strike (an opponent) with a powerful blow.
verb phrase
noun
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a piece or strip of paper, plastic, leather, etc, for attaching to something by one end as a mark or label
a price tag
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Also called: electronic tag. an electronic device worn, usually on the wrist or ankle, by an offender serving a noncustodial sentence, which monitors the offender's whereabouts by means of a link to a central computer through the telephone system
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a small piece of material hanging from or loosely attached to a part or piece
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a point of metal or other hard substance at the end of a cord, lace, etc, to prevent it from fraying and to facilitate threading
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an epithet or verbal appendage, the refrain of a song, the moral of a fable, etc
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a brief quotation, esp one in a foreign language
his speech was interlarded with Horatian tags
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grammar
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Also called: tag question. a clause added on to another clause to invite the hearer's agreement or conversational cooperation. Tags are usually in the form of a question with a pronoun as subject, the antecedent of which is the subject of the main clause; as isn't it in the bread is on the table, isn't it?
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a linguistic item added on to a sentence but not forming part of it, as John in are you there, John?
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an ornamental flourish as at the end of a signature
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the contrastingly coloured tip to an animal's tail
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a matted lock of wool or hair
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angling a strand of tinsel, wire, etc, tied to the body of an artificial fly
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slang a graffito consisting of a nickname or personal symbol
verb
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to mark with a tag
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to monitor the whereabouts of (an offender) by means of an electronic tag
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to add or append as a tag
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to supply (prose or blank verse) with rhymes
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(intr; usually foll by on or along) to trail (behind)
many small boys tagged on behind the procession
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to name or call (someone something)
they tagged him Lanky
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to cut the tags of wool or hair from (an animal)
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slang to paint one's tag on (a building, wall, etc)
noun
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Also called: tig. a children's game in which one player chases the others in an attempt to catch one of them who will then become the chaser
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the act of tagging one's partner in tag wrestling
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(modifier) denoting or relating to a wrestling contest between two teams of two wrestlers, in which only one from each team may be in the ring at one time. The contestant outside the ring may change places with his team-mate inside the ring after touching his hand
verb
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to catch (another child) in the game of tag
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(in tag wrestling) to touch the hand of (one's partner)
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tag1
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English tagge (noun); cognate with Middle Low German, Norwegian tagge, Swedish tagg “pointed protruding part”; akin to tack 1
Origin of tag2
First recorded in 1730–40; perhaps special use of tag 1
Explanation
Tag! You're it! Tag is a playground game in which you try to catch other players. A tag is also a label or marker that provides some information about the thing it's attached to, like the tag inside the neck of your sweater. Items for sale often display price tags, and people at a social event sometimes wear name tags. You can also use tag as a verb to mean "to mark with a tag." This word has many colloquial meanings too, including "nickname" and "identifying graffiti mark." There's also the verb meaning "to touch another player in a game of tag."
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:
His price tag, at £0.5m more than Calvert-Lewin, may be a sticking point.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
But delaying any solution will only exacerbate the price tag.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
Since Starbucks first introduced the drink category in 2012, they’ve quickly metastasized across menus, becoming the popular secret third thing for those who aren’t into the taste or price tag of coffee or matcha.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
That deal valued the storied NBA team at $10 billion, a record price tag at the time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
The last thing we picked up was a collar with a name tag.
From "Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat" by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth
Since 2018, the California Beach Shark Safety program at Cal State Long Beach has tagged great whites in local waters and shared their locations with lifeguards.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
McCoy said he now sees his winery’s luxury brands being tagged on social media by passengers aboard United flights.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Clothing is tagged with a green sticker when it has been authorised.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
The Facebook post tagged news outlets, and soon the Citrus County Chronicle, the local newspaper, wrote a story.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
There are two hundred perfectly good traps stacked on the dock right now, all licensed and tagged, not doing nothing since my dad quit fishing.
From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick
I put together a group of a few financial people to help control this and they’re finding savings by tagging things that we’re underutilizing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Google has signed the EU code of conduct on AI transparency, and says it is working with others like Nvidia, OpenAI and Apple on digital tagging tools.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
Realmuto missed tagging Pages’ foot, the Dodgers center fielder’s cleat didn’t appear to touch the plate.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026
Michelangelo’s burning resentment of Da Vinci kept him warm at night, and his hostility toward Raphael fueled his years-long dedication to tagging up the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling.
From Salon ● May 16, 2026
But I wasn’t feeling much of that now, not since I had begun tagging along on Aunt Kitty’s adventures.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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.
