tan

¹ American  

[tan] / tæn /

noun

1. tangent.

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Tan ² American  

[tan] / tæn /

noun

1. Amy, born 1952, U.S. novelist.

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tan ³ American  

[tan] / tæn /

verb (used with object)

tanned, tanning

1. to convert (a hide) into leather, especially by soaking or steeping in a bath prepared from tanbark or synthetically.

2. to make brown by exposure to ultraviolet rays, as of the sun.

3. Informal. to thrash; spank.

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verb (used without object)

tanned, tanning

1. to become tanned.

noun

1. the brown color imparted to the skin by exposure to the sun or open air.

2. yellowish brown; light brown.

3. tanbark.

adjective

tanner, tannest

1. of the color of tan; yellowish-brown.

2. used in or relating to tanning processes, materials, etc.

idioms

1. tan someone's hide, to beat someone soundly.

   She threatened to tan our hides if she found us on her property again.

TAN ⁴ American  

[tan] / tæn /

noun

1. tax-anticipation note.

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tan ¹ British  

/ tæn /

abbreviation

1. tangent (sense 2)

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tan ² British  

/ tæn /

noun

1. the brown colour produced by the skin after intensive exposure to ultraviolet rays, esp those of the sun

2. a light or moderate yellowish-brown colour

3. short for tanbark

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verb

1. to go brown or cause to go brown after exposure to ultraviolet rays

   she tans easily

2. to convert (a skin or hide) into leather by treating it with a tanning agent, such as vegetable tannins, chromium salts, fish oils, or formaldehyde

3. slang (tr) to beat or flog

adjective

1. of the colour tan

   tan gloves

2. used in or relating to tanning

tan Scientific  

1. Abbreviation of tangent

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Other Word Forms

• tannable adjective
• tannish adjective
• untanned adjective
• well-tanned adjective

Etymology

Origin of tan¹

By shortening

Origin of tan¹

First recorded before 1000; 1920–25 tan ¹ for def. 2; Middle English tannen “to make hide into leather,” late Old English tannian (only in past participle getanned ), from Medieval Latin tannāre, derivative of tannum “oak bark, tanbark,” from Germanic; compare Old High German tanna “oak, fir,” akin to Dutch den “fir”

Example Sentences

With nights out planned out for New Year's Eve, for many a tan is high on the priority list.

From BBC

Gigi is her age, 21, with tanned skin, green eyes, freckles, winged eyeliner and long black hair.

From BBC

A few minutes later, she opens the car door and jogs over in her black Nikes and tan cargo pants.

From Los Angeles Times

The new research, the authors say, "irrefutably" counters those arguments by demonstrating that tanning beds, at the molecular level, change skin cells in ways that go far beyond the impact of everyday sun exposure.

From Science Daily

The patron was well covered, wearing a black hoodie, a medical mask and a tan beanie.

From BBC

Related Words

• beige
• brownish
• drab
• khaki