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Indian ink

American  

noun

  1. (sometimes lowercase) India ink.


Indian ink British  

noun

  1. a black pigment made from a mixture of lampblack and a binding agent such as gelatine or glue: usually formed into solid cakes and sticks

  2. a black liquid ink made from this pigment

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Kirk Andrews, from Stourbridge, has produced a series called Music Icons - and his latest piece is an Indian ink stamp image of Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi.

From BBC • Sep. 15, 2023

He got up, held it close to my eyes: and I read, traced in Indian ink, in my own handwriting, the words “JANE EYRE”—the work doubtless of some moment of abstraction.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

A water-colour in washes of Indian ink of very similar composition is in existence, and was on exhibition at Ryder Street in 1904.

From William Blake A Study of His Life and Art Work by Langridge, Irene

If we spread a layer of salt water on a horizontal glass plate, and sow in it drops of Indian ink, artificial cells are produced by diffusion.

From The Mechanism of Life by Leduc, Stéphane

If we sow a number of drops of Indian ink in regular order on the surface of a salt solution, we obtain most beautiful patterns formed by the mutual repulsion of the drops.

From The Mechanism of Life by Leduc, Stéphane