tattoo

1
[ ta-too ]
See synonyms for: tattootattooedtattooingtattoos on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural tat·toos.
  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.

  1. British. an outdoor military pageant or display.

Origin of tattoo

1
First recorded in 1570–80; earlier taptoo, from Dutch taptoe, literally, “shut tap,” from tap “spigot, tap” + toe “closed, shut”; cognate with tap2, to

Words Nearby tattoo

Other definitions for tattoo (2 of 2)

tattoo2
[ ta-too ]

noun,plural tat·toos.
  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),tat·tooed, tat·too·ing.
  1. to mark (the skin) with tattoos.

  2. to put (tattoos) on the skin.

Origin of tattoo

2
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. 2024

How to use tattoo in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tattoo (1 of 2)

tattoo1

/ (tæˈtuː) /


nounplural -toos
  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

  1. any similar beating on a drum, etc

Origin of tattoo

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

nounplural -toos
  1. a design made by this process

  2. the practice of tattooing

Origin of tattoo

2
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