tat

1
[ tat ]
See synonyms for tat on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with or without object),tat·ted, tat·ting.
  1. to do tatting, or make (knotted lace) by tatting.

Origin of tat

1
First recorded in 1900–05; back formation from tatting

Words Nearby tat

Other definitions for tat (2 of 3)

tat2
[ tat ]

noun
  1. a pattern, words, or piece of art inked indelibly into the skin by making punctures in it and inserting pigments; tattoo: She was normally proud of her tats, but she wore long-sleeved blouses to cover them while interviewing for elementary school teaching positions.

verb (used with or without object),tat·ted, tat·ting.
  1. to mark (the skin) with tattoos, or put (tattoos) on the skin (often followed by up): I want to get really tatted up, but I’m planning each piece carefully and taking my time—you only get one canvas for this art.

Origin of tat

2
First recorded in 1980–85; shortening of tattoo2

Other definitions for TAT (3 of 3)

TAT

abbreviationPsychology.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use tat in a sentence

  • I was here a little while ago and nobody answered my knock, though I could hear that typewriter going rat, tat, tat all the time.

  • Our ears were deafened by the sharp rat-tat-tat of the machine guns, and by our own frantic anti-aircraft fire.

    The Romance of His Life | Mary Cholmondeley
  • And yet the one is as good as the other: pass for pass, tit for tat, a Roland for an Oliver.

    The Pocket R.L.S. | Robert Louis Stevenson
  • That's why I don't mind tackling cabmen—they sit all day, and all they've got to say is 'rat-tat,' and they've done.

    Rhoda Fleming, Complete | George Meredith
  • In a few minutes we were replying in volume, and the rat-tat-tats of the machine-guns on either side were continuous.

    War in the Garden of Eden | Kermit Roosevelt

British Dictionary definitions for tat (1 of 4)

tat1

/ (tæt) /


verbtats, tatting or tatted
  1. to make (something) by tatting

Origin of tat

1
C19: of unknown origin

British Dictionary definitions for tat (2 of 4)

tat2

/ (tæt) /


noun
  1. tatty articles or a tatty condition

  2. tasteless articles

  1. a tangled mass

Origin of tat

2
C20: back formation from tatty

British Dictionary definitions for tat (3 of 4)

tat3

/ (tæt) /


noun

British Dictionary definitions for tat (4 of 4)

tat4

/ (tæt) /


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

Other Idioms and Phrases with tat

tat

see tit for tat.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.