inked

1. 1
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of ink.

   The cartoonist inked the pencil sketches late into the night.

   Startled by the diver, the octopus inked and shot off into the rocks.

   Note

   One form serves as both the simple past (the cartoonist inked the sketches) and the participle (the contract was inked on Monday). With a deal or a contract as its object it means signed, not literally covered in ink; with a squid or an octopus as its subject it means the animal squirted its dark fluid to protect itself.

2. 2
   adjectiveslang

   Having a tattoo or tattoos on the body.

   The bartender was heavily inked, with full sleeves on both arms.

   Inked models now appear in ads for banks and car companies.

   Similartattooed

   Note

   Tattooing put an old word to new use: Middle English already had inked for "written in ink," and here the skin is the page. It is slang, so tattooed stays the neutral choice in formal writing. It works before a noun (an inked bartender) or after a verb (she is inked), and heavily or fully says how much.

Showing meanings only. Show all 2