ink

[ingk]

noun

1. a fluid or viscous substance used for writing or printing.

2. a dark, protective fluid ejected by the cuttlefish and other cephalopods.

3. Slang.,  a tattoo or tattoos.

   Oh, nice, you got new ink!

4. Informal.,  publicity, especially in print media.

   Their construction plans got some ink in the local paper.

verb (used with object)

1. to mark, stain, cover, or smear with ink.

   to ink one's clothes.

2. Informal.,  to sign one's name to (an official document).

   We expect to ink the contract tomorrow.

verb (used with or without object)

1. Slang.,  to mark (the skin) with tattoos.

   The team agreed that they would all get inked if they brought home the championship this year.

ink

/ ɪŋk /

noun

1. a fluid or paste used for printing, writing, and drawing

2. 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

1. to mark with ink

2. to coat (a printing surface) with ink

ink

1. A dark liquid ejected for protection by most cephalopods, including the octopus and squid. Ink consists of highly concentrated melanin.

Other Word Forms

• inker noun
• inkless adjective
• inklike adjective
• reink verb (used with object)
• uninked adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ink¹

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”; encaustic

Word History and Origins

Origin of ink¹

C13: from Old French enque, from Late Latin encaustum a purplish-red ink, from Greek enkauston purple ink, from enkaustos burnt in, from enkaiein to burn in; see _en- ², _caustic

Example Sentences

OpenAI recently inked hundreds of billions of dollars of deals to build data centers filled with chips it hopes will further its AI dominance.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He's documented her life as a newborn - featuring her hospital tag and ink prints of her tiny feet - as well as one for each year of her childhood so far.

Read more on BBC

So ink on paper, or at least promising talks, would be welcome.

Read more on BBC

In the next six weeks, Brookfield and Santee Cooper will undertake a “project feasibility” review, and potentially try to ink deals with power buyers—which could include data center operators.

Read more on Barron's

Platner revealed that he got the ink while serving in the military and was unaware of its connections to Nazi imagery.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• impression 
• imprint 
• line 
• point 
• record 
• scar 
• score 
• signature 
• spot 
• stain 
• stamp 
• streak 
• symbol