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Showing results for tat. Search instead for TUAT.
Synonyms

tat

1 American  
[tat] / tæt /

verb (used with or without object)

tatted, tatting

  1. to do tatting, or make (knotted lace) by tatting.

tat 2 American  
[tat] / tæt /

noun

  1. a pattern, words, or piece of art inked indelibly into the skin by making punctures in it and inserting pigments; tattoo.

    She was normally proud of her tats, but she wore long-sleeved blouses to cover them while interviewing for elementary school teaching positions.

verb (used with or without object)

tatted, tatting

  1. to mark (the skin) with tattoos, or put (tattoos) on the skin (often followed byup ).

    I want to get really tatted up, but I’m planning each piece carefully and taking my time—you only get one canvas for this art.
TAT 3 American  

abbreviation

Psychology.

  1. Thematic Apperception Test.

tat 1 British  
/ tæt /

noun

  1. tatty articles or a tatty condition

  2. tasteless articles

  3. a tangled mass

"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
tat 2 British  
/ tæt /

verb

  1. to make (something) by tatting

"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
tat 3 British  
/ tæt /

noun

  1. short for tattoo 2

"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
tat 4 British  
/ tæt /

noun

  1. See tit for tat

"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
tat Idioms  

  1. see tit for tat.

Etymology

Origin of tat1

First recorded in 1900–05; back formation from tatting

Origin of tat2

First recorded in 1980–85; shortening of tattoo 2 ( def. )

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.

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

Against the yen, the dollar was also a tad softer tat 147.59.

From Reuters • Sep. 18, 2023

This claim was used by one of the defence teams to imply tat she was out to maximise a compensation claim - something that was also denied by Girl A.

From BBC • Aug. 19, 2023

And he never stopped hearing those British battle drums, that ghostly RAT, tat, tat, tat, tat.

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.