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:
The two set off for Moscow to try to get Kelly to the US embassy, hoping that Ustinov will be allowed to tag along -- and finally one day sample McDonald's.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
The page, whose administrator didn’t respond to requests for comment, sometimes links photos to a website that lets people rank mug shots and tag them as “funny,” “spooky” and “hot.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Supporting your friend may justify the $80 price tag.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
With his expensive price tag, however, comes pressure.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
Last year we played laser tag in the park.
From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
In Austin, where Tesla is headquartered, 106 vehicles are tagged as being active over the last two months, according to RobotaxiTracker, a crowd-sourced effort.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
Not long after she got the card, Amex had also started tacking on a $50 fee for adult guests who tagged along into its Centurion Lounges.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
When Boobie moved to L.A. in May, his father tagged along, just to make sure he got acclimated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
The pesticide was tagged with a low-level radioactive marker so researchers could track where it moved.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
When David was three and started coming to the clinic for occupational therapy, I tagged along because I was too little to stay home alone.
From "Rules" by Cynthia Lord
The team plans to use these findings to investigate targeted therapies that could restore normal immune activity when it is disrupted by obesity-related DNA tagging.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 2, 2026
Other examples cited include a television producer who reportedly contacted the band's management thinking they were related to Kpop Demon Hunters, and social media posts incorrectly tagging Demon Hunter when discussing the film.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
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
He’s not just along for the ride tonight, though, like a little kid tagging along.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
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.
