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suntans

[suhn-tanz]
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noun (used with a plural verb)
  1. a tan military uniform for summer wear.
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Origin of suntans

1935–40, Americanism; see suntan, -s3

suntan

[suhn-tan]
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 suntans

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • General O'Donnell, still in suntans, was seated at a small desk.

    The Leech

    Phillips Barbee

  • He was a tall, spare man in suntans, with a sunburned face and cold eyes.

    The Leech

    Phillips Barbee

British Dictionary definitions for suntans

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 suntans

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