Tattoo Definition & Meaning

American

British

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms tattoo 1 American [ta-too] / tæˈtu /

noun

plural

tattoos

1. a signal on a drum, bugle, or trumpet at night, for soldiers or sailors to go to their quarters.

2. a knocking or strong pulsation.

   My heart beat a tattoo on my ribs.

3. British. an outdoor military pageant or display.

tattoo 2 American [ta-too] / tæˈtu /

noun

plural

tattoos

1. the act or practice of marking the skin with indelible patterns, pictures, legends, etc., by making punctures in it and inserting pigments.

2. a pattern, picture, legend, etc., so made.

verb (used with object)

tattooed, tattooing

1. to mark (the skin) with tattoos.

2. to put (tattoos) on the skin.

tattoo 1 British / tæˈtuː /

noun

1. (formerly) a signal by drum or bugle ordering the military to return to their quarters

2. a military display or pageant, usually at night

3. any similar beating on a drum, etc

"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 tattoo 2 British / tæˈtuː /

verb

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

"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

noun

1. a design made by this process

2. the practice of tattooing

"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

Other Word Forms

• tattooer noun
• tattooist noun
• untattooed adjective

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

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.

Men with tattoos on their arms came in and out of the apartment.

From Literature

At Homeboy’s headquarters in Chinatown, people receive employment, tattoo removal, therapy and more.

From Los Angeles Times

The only thing we know about Ray’s life are the names of his two previous dogs, and that’s only because he has them tattooed on his chest.

From Los Angeles Times

If you have trouble following, there are many Philadelphians who will explain, having had the Xs and Os of the playbook tattooed on their skin.

From The Wall Street Journal

She even has a tattoo of her childhood home, a one-story home with a flat midcentury roof in Burbank on the inside of her forearm.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• emblem
• symbol

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.