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• tat
  tat

  verb (used with or without object)

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

  abbreviation

  Thematic Apperception Test.

tat

¹ American  

[tat] / tæt /

verb (used with or without object)

tatted, tatting

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

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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.

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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.

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tat ¹ British  

/ tæt /

noun

1. tatty articles or a tatty condition

2. tasteless articles

3. a tangled mass

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tat ² British  

/ tæt /

verb

1. to make (something) by tatting

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tat ³ British  

/ tæt /

noun

1. short for tattoo 2

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tat ⁴ British  

/ tæt /

noun

1. See tit for tat

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tat Idioms  

1. see tit for tat.

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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. )

Explanation

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."

Example Sentences

From his newly built three-storey home outside Hanoi, Trinh Tat Thang has watched the surging global gold price with mounting dread.

From Barron's • Jan. 30, 2026

Playwright Leah Nanako Winkler will write the book, which will feature music by Helen Park and lyrics by Amanda Green and Tat Tong.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2024

As part of this researchers from the Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering at Monash University, led by Associate Professor Yan Tat Wong, are honing in on the ideal distribution of phosphenes.

From Science Daily • Oct. 12, 2023

As my colleagues Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks and Tat Bellamy-Walker reported last week, already this year 139 hate crimes or bias incidents related to sexual orientation or gender have been reported in Seattle.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 28, 2022

This is the world Nguyen Tat Thanh was born into in 1890.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin

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