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suntan

[suhn-tan]
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noun
  1. a browning or a brown color of the skin resulting from exposure to sunlight or a sunlamp; tan.
  2. Also called mayfair tan, merida. a light to medium yellow-brown.
  3. Also called pastel orange. a medium orange color.
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verb (used with or without object), sun·tanned, sun·tan·ning.
  1. tan1(defs 2, 4).
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Origin of suntan

First recorded in 1900–05; sun + tan1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

beigedrabkhakibrownishbrownnaturalgoldsaddleecrucreambronzebuffbiscuitsandsuntanoliveumbertawnyyellowish

Examples from the Web for suntan

Historical Examples

  • 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
    1. 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
    2. (as modifier)suntan oil
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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

v.

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper