Dictionary.com
definitions

tattoo

1
[ta-too]
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tattoo ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural tat·toos.

a signal on a drum, bugle, or trumpet at night, for soldiers or sailors to go to their quarters.
a knocking or strong pulsation: My heart beat a tattoo on my ribs.
British. an outdoor military pageant or display.

RELATED CONTENT

semicolon tattoo
Read more in this article about some frequently asked questions and fun facts related to our definitions.
READ MORE
teardrop tattoo
Read more in this article about some frequently asked questions and fun facts related to our definitions.
READ MORE

RELATED WORDS

symbol, emblem, brand, design, mark, tapping, rapping

Origin of tattoo

1
1570–80; earlier taptoo < Dutch taptoe literally, the tap(room) is to (i.e., shut)

tattoo

2
[ta-too]

noun, plural tat·toos.

the act or practice of marking the skin with indelible patterns, pictures, legends, etc., by making punctures in it and inserting pigments.
a pattern, picture, legend, etc., so made.

verb (used with object), tat·tooed, tat·too·ing.

to mark (the skin) with tattoos.
to put (tattoos) on the skin.

Origin of tattoo

2
1760–70; < Marquesan tatu; replacing tattow < Tahitian tatau
Related formstat·too·er, tat·too·ist, nounun·tat·tooed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tattoo

Contemporary Examples of tattoo

Historical Examples of tattoo

British Dictionary definitions for tattoo

tattoo

1

noun plural -toos

(formerly) a signal by drum or bugle ordering the military to return to their quarters
a military display or pageant, usually at night
any similar beating on a drum, etc

Word Origin for tattoo

C17: from Dutch taptoe, from the command tap toe! turn off the taps! from tap tap of a barrel + toe to shut

tattoo

2

verb -toos, -tooing or -tooed

to make (pictures or designs) on (the skin) by pricking and staining with indelible colours

noun plural -toos

a design made by this process
the practice of tattooing
Derived Formstattooer or tattooist, noun

Word Origin for tattoo

C18: from Tahitian tatau
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
Word Origin and History for tattoo
n.1

"signal," 1680s, "signal calling soldiers or sailors to quarters at night," earlier tap-to (1644, in order of Col. Hutchinson to garrison of Nottingham), from Dutch taptoe, from tap "faucet of a cask" (see tap (n.1)) + toe "shut." So called because police used to visit taverns in the evening to shut off the taps of casks. Transferred sense of "drumbeat" is recorded from 1755. Hence, Devil's tattoo "action of idly drumming fingers in irritation or impatience" (1803).

n.2

"pigment design in skin," 1769 (noun and verb, both first attested in writing of Capt. Cook), from a Polynesian noun (e.g. Tahitian and Samoan tatau, Marquesan tatu "puncture, mark made on skin").

v.

"mark the skin with pigment," 1769; see tattoo (n.2). Related: Tattooed; tattooing.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for tattoo

tattoo

[tă-tōō′]

n. pl. tat•toos

A permanent mark or design made on the skin by a process of pricking and ingraining an indelible pigment or by raising scars.

v.

To mark the skin with a tattoo.
To form a tattoo on the skin.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.