What does "tat" mean?
Cheap and vulgar tastelessness; sleaze.
Tat
/tæt/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Cheap and vulgar tastelessness; sleaze.
- Grammar: tat is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: aktion - german, applique, aptitude test, cheapness.
- Useful contrasts: high value items, premium goods, quality goods.
- Usage evidence: The Turkish coup d'état occurred on September 12, 1980.
How to use "tat"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "tat" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "tat" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "tat" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "tat" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "tat" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "aktion - german" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "tat", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Cheap and vulgar tastelessness; sleaze. British, uncountable
- 2 Clipping of tatting. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping
"She's so swishy in her satin and tat / In her frock coat and bipperty-bopperty hat"
- 3 A pony. India, archaic
"And so each morning before daybreak I am up, and having dispatched my luggage on the backs of coolies after much noise and bustle, without which no natives can work, I mount my tat as the sun begins to touch the higher hills, and start on my morning ride of twelve miles."
- 4 A tattoo. slang
"Now give me my cable, fast food, four-by's, tats, right away I want it now."
- 5 Alternative form of tatt (“a die, especially one that is loaded”). UK, alt-of, alternative, archaic, slang
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 Alternative form of tatty (“kind of woven mat or screen”). alt-of, alternative
- 7 Some small thing, especially that which is exchanged tit for tat.
"The article seems an attempt at tit-for-tat; but there is too little tat, even in Bedouins, to provoke such a maze of tit as is found in “'Bedouins' and Nomads.”"
- 8 A member of an Iranian people, presently living within Azerbaijan, Armenia and southern Dagestan in Russia.
- 9 Initialism of total air temperature. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 10 a projective technique using black-and-white pictures; subjects tell a story about each picture wordnet
- 11 Cheap, tasteless, useless goods; trinkets. British, uncountable
"tourist tat"
- 12 Initialism of thematic apperception test. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 13 tastelessness by virtue of being cheap and vulgar wordnet
- 14 Gunny cloth made from the fibre of the Corchorus olitorius (jute). India, countable
- 15 Initialism of turnaround time. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
Verb
- 1 To make (something by) tatting. intransitive, transitive
- 2 To apply a tattoo. slang, transitive
"2016 May 5, Fifth Harmony, “Write on Me”, 7/27, Epic Records, Sysco Music Write on me / Love the way you tat me up"
- 3 make lacework by knotting or looping wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A southwestern Iranian language spoken by the Tat people.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"The Turkish coup d'état occurred on September 12, 1980."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "tat"?
Common synonyms include: aktion - german, applique, aptitude test, cheapness, embroider, inkblot test.
How do you use "tat" in a sentence?
The Turkish coup d'état occurred on September 12, 1980.
How do you pronounce "tat"?
Pronounced /tæt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Hindi टाट (ṭāṭ, “thick canvas”).
Etymology 2
Unknown. Perhaps the same as etymology 1, above, or perhaps a back-formation from tatting. Attested since the 19th century.
Etymology 3
From Hindi टट्टू (ṭaṭṭū, “pony”).
Etymology 4
Clipping of tattoo; see further etymology there.
Etymology 5
Ultimately from Proto-Turkic *tāt (“alien, stranger, pagan”).
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