tatty articles or a tatty condition
tasteless articles
a tangled mass
First recorded in 1900–05; back formation from tatting
First recorded in 1980–85; shortening of tattoo 2 ( def. )
To tat is to make lace. Tatting involves making loops and tying knots in a long piece of thread over and over again. Most of the lace made today is created with a machine, and the ability to tat, or make lace by hand, is rare. Tatting requires a lot of silk or cotton thread and either a metal disc called a "shuttle," needles, or a crochet hook. You may also find tat used as a noun to mean "cheap, tasteless stuff," or informally to mean "tattoo," as in "Hey, I love the new tat on your shoulder."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He praised Powell’s avoidance of engaging in tit for tat with the president.
From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026
In this tit for tat, though, California’s threats to respond have thus far proved ineffectual.
From Slate • Aug. 19, 2025
Instead of tit for tat, the prime minister is pivoting Canada with precision toward alternative trade blocs like Europe and the Pacific Rim.
From Salon • Aug. 11, 2025
It’s also worth noting that the other side of today’s allegations – that individual MPs were hacked too – is not uncommon in the tit for tat cyber espionage world.
From BBC • Mar. 25, 2024
It was those different rat, tat, tats that told the men which way to turn, how fast to march, when to load their muskets, and when to shoot.
From I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis
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.
