suntan

[suhn-tan]

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noun

a browning or a brown color of the skin resulting from exposure to sunlight or a sunlamp; tan.

Also called mayfair tan, merida. a light to medium yellow-brown.

Also called pastel orange. a medium orange color.

verb (used with or without object), sun·tanned, sun·tan·ning.

tan¹(defs 2, 4).

Origin of suntan

First recorded in 1900–05; sun + tan¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for suntan

beige, drab, khaki, brownish, brown, natural, gold, saddle, ecru, cream, bronze, buff, biscuit, sand, olive, umber, tawny, yellowish

Examples from the Web for suntan

Historical Examples of suntan

I did recognize Mr. Kennedy and his suntan I had been hearing about.
Warren Commission (6 of 26): Hearings Vol. VI (of 15)
The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
We all went out together in a group of boys and girls in order to get—to swim a little and to get a suntan.
Warren Commission (5 of 26): Hearings Vol. V (of 15)
The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy

British Dictionary definitions for suntan

suntan

noun

a brownish colouring of the skin caused by the formation of the pigment melanin within the skin on exposure to the ultraviolet rays of the sun or a sunlampOften shortened to: tan
(as modifier)suntan oil

Derived Formssuntanned, adjective

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

Word Origin and History for suntan

also sun-tan, 1821, from sun (n.) + tan (v.). Related: Suntanned; suntanning. As a noun from 1904.