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Synonyms

tanner

1 American  
[tan-er] / ˈtæn ər /

noun

  1. a person whose occupation it is to tan hides.

tanner 2 American  
[tan-er] / ˈtæn ər /

adjective

  1. comparative of tan.

tanner 3 American  
[tan-er] / ˈtæn ər /

noun

  1. British Slang. a sixpenny piece.

Tanner 4 American  
[tan-er] / ˈtæn ər /

noun

  1. Henry Ossawa 1859–1937, U.S. painter, in France after 1891.

tanner 1 British  
/ ˈtænə /

noun

  1. a person who tans skins and hides

"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
tanner 2 British  
/ ˈtænə /

noun

  1. (formerly) an informal word for sixpence

"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

Etymology

Origin of tanner1

First recorded before 1000; Middle English tanner(e), tannour, late Old English tannere; tan 1, -er 1

Origin of tanner3

First recorded in 1805–15; origin uncertain

Vocabulary lists containing tanner

"Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts"

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Vocabulary from Readings 1, Unit 2

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Back on TikTok, in her own way, beauty influencer and fake tanner Jemma is also trying to prevent others from going through what Jak did.

From BBC • Aug. 3, 2025

When he returned to Germany, he searched all over the country for a traditional tanner who could teach him the craft and found one in Bad Hindelang, where Bensmann still lives today.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 14, 2023

He was also tanner and had shaved his head.

From Slate • Feb. 25, 2023

The state supplies 6 percent of the world’s king, snow, tanner and Dungeness crabs, per the institute.

From Washington Post • Oct. 15, 2022

And I had been an apprentice tanner a few weeks out of the year.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.