tattoo

[ ta-too ]

See 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.

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

Gang tattoos are still inked onto his face, like scarlet letters.
How Good Dads Can Change the World | Gary Barker, PhD, Michael Kaufman | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
Like drawing tattoos, sewing earmuffs, or fashioning model airplanes from old chip bags?
How a ‘Real Housewife’ Survives Prison: ‘I Don’t See [Teresa Giudice] Having a Cakewalk Here’ | Michael Howard | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
Guys with a few guns and a lot of tattoos gave interviews and not much information about themselves.
Dutch Biker Gangs Vs. ISIS | Nadette De Visser, Christopher Dickey | December 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Missy, 37, is a petite, bespectacled gal with a green pixie cut, and her arms are adorned with tattoos.
Masters of Alt Sex: SuicideGirls Hits Puberty and Wants to Invade Your TV Set | Marlow Stern | December 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
So, to commemorate her 75th birthday, the two got matching butterfly tattoos on their wrists.
Masters of Alt Sex: SuicideGirls Hits Puberty and Wants to Invade Your TV Set | Marlow Stern | December 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

I saw very plainly that this was their bhil; one by one they began to forsake their tattoos and collect.
Confessions of a Thug | Philip Meadows Taylor
Like all the Woodpeckers, they delight in playing tattoos on dry, resonant limbs with their bills.
Bird Guide: Land Birds East of the Rockies | Chester A. (Chester Albert) Reed
I thought it best to send three tattoos and a march instead of four marches, although the former can be used as marches.
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume III (of 3) | Alexander Wheelock Thayer
To-day I give the lacking two tattoos and the fourth grand march to the post.
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume III (of 3) | Alexander Wheelock Thayer
Up to 1874, when the letter was made public, only one of the Tattoos had been printed.
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume III (of 3) | Alexander Wheelock Thayer

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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