What does "tattoo" mean?
An image made on a body part, usually the skin with ink and a needle.
Tattoo
/tæˈtuː/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An image made on a body part, usually the skin with ink and a needle.
- Grammar: tattoo is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: application, band, bang, bar.
- Useful contrasts: bare skin, erase, forget.
- Usage evidence: She has a tattoo of a lizard on her thigh.
How to use "tattoo"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "tattoo" 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 "tattoo" 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 "tattoo" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "tattoo" 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 "tattoo" is acting as noun, verb 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 "application" 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 "tattoo", 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 An image made on a body part, usually the skin with ink and a needle.
"His shirt sleeves were turned up, so upon his brawny arms his tattooes were visible."
- 2 A signal played five minutes before taps (lights out). countable, uncountable
"Study goes on until tattoo, which, when Pops was at the Point, was sounded at 9.30, followed by taps at 10."
- 3 A pony of a certain breed from India.
- 4 the practice of making a design on the skin by pricking and staining wordnet
- 5 A method of decorating a body part, usually the skin, by inserting colored substances under the surface with a sharp instrument (usually a solenoid-driven needle).
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 A signal by drum or bugle ordering soldiers to return to their quarters. countable, uncountable
- 7 a design on the skin made by tattooing wordnet
- 8 A military display or pageant. countable, uncountable
- 9 a drumbeat or bugle call that signals the military to return to their quarters wordnet
- 10 A rhythmic tapping. countable, uncountable
"the right hand became restless and began to beat out a silent tattoo upon the tabletop"
Verb
- 1 To apply a tattoo to (someone or something).
"She made Silas tattoo an anchor on her arm like his"
- 2 To tap rhythmically on, to drum.
"He had looked at the clock many scores of times; and at the street, where the rain was pattering down, and the people as they clinked by in pattens, left long reflections on the shining stone: he tattooed at the table: he bit his nails most completely […]"
- 3 stain (skin) with indelible color wordnet
- 4 To hit the ball hard, as if to figuratively leave a tattoo on the ball.
"Jones tattoos one into the gap in left; that will clear the bases."
Antonyms
Example
"She has a tattoo of a lizard on her thigh."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "tattoo"?
Common synonyms include: application, band, bang, bar, barrage, bash.
How do you use "tattoo" in a sentence?
She has a tattoo of a lizard on her thigh.
How do you pronounce "tattoo"?
Pronounced /tæˈtuː/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From earlier tattaow, tattow, a borrowing from a Polynesian language, e.g. Samoan tatau (“tattoo; to tap, to strike”).
Etymology 2
From earlier tap-to, borrowed from Dutch taptoe, from tap (“tap; faucet on a cask”) + toe (“to; shut”). More at tap, to.
Etymology 3
From Hindi टट्टू (ṭaṭṭū).