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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

tattoo.

An image made on a body part, usually the skin with ink and a needle.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/tæˈtu/General-American[tʰæˈtʰuː] ~ [tʰæˈtʰʉw]General-American/tæˈtuː/UK/təˈtuː/UK
  1. An image made on a body part, usually the skin with ink and a needle.

  2. 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).

Where this word comes from

From earlier tattaow, tattow, a borrowing from a Polynesian language, e.g. Samoan tatau (“tattoo; to tap, to strike”).

verb/tæˈtu/General-American[tʰæˈtʰuː] ~ [tʰæˈtʰʉw]General-American/tæˈtuː/UK/təˈtuː/UK
  1. To apply a tattoo to (someone or something).

  2. 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.
Where this word comes from

From earlier tattaow, tattow, a borrowing from a Polynesian language, e.g. Samoan tatau (“tattoo; to tap, to strike”).

noun/tæˈtu/General-American[tʰæˈtʰuː] ~ [tʰæˈtʰʉw]General-American/tæˈtuː/UK/təˈtuː/UK
  1. A signal played five minutes before taps (lights out).

    countable · uncountable
  2. A signal by drum or bugle ordering soldiers to return to their quarters.

    countable · uncountable
  3. A military display or pageant.

    countable · uncountable
  4. A rhythmic tapping.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From earlier tap-to, borrowed from Dutch taptoe, from tap (“tap; faucet on a cask”) + toe (“to; shut”). More at tap, to.

verb/tæˈtu/General-American[tʰæˈtʰuː] ~ [tʰæˈtʰʉw]General-American/tæˈtuː/UK/təˈtuː/UK
  1. To tap rhythmically on, to drum.

Where this word comes from

From earlier tap-to, borrowed from Dutch taptoe, from tap (“tap; faucet on a cask”) + toe (“to; shut”). More at tap, to.

noun/tæˈtu/General-American[tʰæˈtʰuː] ~ [tʰæˈtʰʉw]General-American/tæˈtuː/UK/təˈtuː/UK
  1. A pony of a certain breed from India.

Where this word comes from

From Hindi टट्टू (ṭaṭṭū).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.