tattoo

[ ta-too ]

See synonyms for: tattoo tattooed tattooing tattoos 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.

Origin of tattoo

First recorded in 1570–80; earlier taptoo, from Dutch taptoe, literally, “shut tap,” from tap “spigot, tap” + toe “closed, shut”; cognate with tap², to

Other definitions for tattoo (2 of 2)

tattoo²

[ 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

First recorded in 1760–70; from Marquesan tatu; replacing tattow, from Tahitian tatau

Other words from tattoo

tat·too·er, tat·too·ist, noun
un·tat·tooed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tattoo in a sentence

She shaved her own head, allegedly telling a nearby tattoo artist that she was sick of people touching her hair, while paparazzi photographed every angle through the windows of the hair salon.
Why Britney Spears’s fans are convinced she’s being held captive | Constance Grady | November 11, 2020 | Vox
In between, according to the indictment, Roberto Cruz Moreno, 20, also of Warrenton, organized an attack on another man who had tattoos associated with the 18th Street Gang.
Three accused of MS-13 gang-related violence in Virginia | Rachel Weiner | November 11, 2020 | Washington Post
Last year, I showed a recent draft of the film at a friend’s tattoo parlor, and it was received well.
Aileen Wuornos Killed. I Knew Her. And I Know Why | Eugene Robinson | November 10, 2020 | Ozy
Gyms, sports facilities, tattoo parlors, cinemas, theaters, bars, and clubs are shut, but hairdressers get to stay open this time round, as do schools and day-care facilities.
As COVID spreads across Europe, a weary continent goes back into lockdown | David Meyer | November 7, 2020 | Fortune
In addition to being an advocate, Lucero inks tattoos herself.
Reviving an Indigenous Tradition: Face Tattoos | Daniel Malloy | October 14, 2020 | Ozy

Within a concentration camp, would someone make a joke about the number, the tattooed number?
Daphne Merkin on Lena Dunham, Book Criticism, and Self-Examination | Mindy Farabee | December 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The online community of tattooed pin-up models turned 13 this year.
Masters of Alt Sex: SuicideGirls Hits Puberty and Wants to Invade Your TV Set | Marlow Stern | December 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
He stood barefoot, his neck covered with interlocking black tattooed swirls, the word HELL inked into his forehead.
Inside a Hospital for the Criminally Insane | Caitlin Dickson | September 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Eyes red and prison muscles bulging, a tattooed white man behind me jumped to his feet from a crouch and swatted me aside.
Inside a Hospital for the Criminally Insane | Caitlin Dickson | September 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
After the show, she told me ‘This song is my life, so I had it tattooed on my foot.’
This Charming Man: Meet 'Ronnissey,' Brooklyn's Fake Morrissey | Michael Moynihan | September 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
On undressing him after death, his body was found to be tattooed like those of the natives of the eastern islands.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil | Maria Graham
They were fantastically tattooed on different parts of their bodies.
A Narrative of the Shipwreck, Captivity and Sufferings of Horace Holden and Benj. H. Nute | Horace Holden
Their arms, and sometimes the lower parts of the body and legs, are ingeniously tattooed.
A Narrative of the Shipwreck, Captivity and Sufferings of Horace Holden and Benj. H. Nute | Horace Holden
The critics called him “the tattooed savage who paints with a drunken broom.”
The History of Modern Painting, Volume 1 (of 4) | Richard Muther
He reached out his arms, tattooed in blue designs, and made as if to advance.
The Lion's Brood | Duffield Osborne

British Dictionary definitions for tattoo (1 of 2)

tattoo¹

/ (tæˈtuː) /

nounplural -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

Origin of tattoo

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

British Dictionary definitions for tattoo (2 of 2)

tattoo²

/ (tæˈtuː) /

verb-toos, -tooing or -tooed

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

nounplural -toos

a design made by this process
the practice of tattooing

Origin of tattoo

C18: from Tahitian tatau

Derived forms of tattoo

tattooer or tattooist, noun

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

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