tattoo
1 Americannoun
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a signal on a drum, bugle, or trumpet at night, for soldiers or sailors to go to their quarters.
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a knocking or strong pulsation.
My heart beat a tattoo on my ribs.
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British. an outdoor military pageant or display.
noun
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the act or practice of marking the skin with indelible patterns, pictures, legends, etc., by making punctures in it and inserting pigments.
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a pattern, picture, legend, etc., so made.
verb (used with object)
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to mark (the skin) with tattoos.
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to put (tattoos) on the skin.
noun
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(formerly) a signal by drum or bugle ordering the military to return to their quarters
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a military display or pageant, usually at night
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any similar beating on a drum, etc
verb
noun
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a design made by this process
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the practice of tattooing
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have tattooedperfect
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has tattooedperfect 3rd person singular
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have been tattooingperfect progressive
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am tattooingprogressive 1st person singular
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tattooingparticiple
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tattoossingular 3rd person
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has been tattooingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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are tattooingprogressive
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is tattooingprogressive 3rd person singular
Past
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were tattooingprogressive plural
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had tattooedperfect
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was tattooingprogressive singular
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had been tattooingperfect progressive
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tattooedparticiple
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tattooedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of tattoo1
First recorded in 1570–80; earlier taptoo, from Dutch taptoe, literally, “shut tap,” from tap “spigot, tap” + toe “closed, shut”; cognate with tap 2 ( def. ), to ( def. )
Origin of tattoo2
First recorded in 1760–70; from Marquesan tatu; replacing tattow, from Tahitian tatau
Explanation
A tattoo is a permanent design made on skin with a needle and ink. If you want a butterfly tattoo but you're scared of needles, you might settle for a temporary version. The word tattoo is also a verb meaning stain the skin using needles and ink. It's probably a good idea to wait until you've been dating someone for more than a week before you tattoo their name on your arm. In music, a tattoo is continuous drumming, and a military tattoo is a drum or bugle that signals soldiers to return to their quarters at the end of the day.
Vocabulary lists containing tattoo
"The Tell-Tale Heart," Vocabulary from the short story
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Commonly Misspelled Words, List 1
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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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.
The first-time political candidate said he got the skull and crossbones tattoo in 2007, when he was in his 20s and in the Marine Corps.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
Platner covered a tattoo he learned was a symbol adopted by the Nazi’s SS paramilitary.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026
The early pieces that established his reputation were dioramas of local spots around Grangeville, such as a tattoo parlor, a pawn show and a Dairy Queen.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026
In a CNN interview, Auchincloss said that he finds “that tattoo and his commentary about it to be personally disqualifying.”
From Slate • May 30, 2026
After the roll call, I never saw the man with the other tattoo again.
From "Prisoner B-3087" by Alan Gratz
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.
