# tag

Pronunciation: say "TAG" /tæɡ/

## Noun

1. A small label attached to an item, typically showing information such as a price, name, or instructions.
   - Simple: A small piece of paper or plastic attached to something to give information about it.
   - _Check the tag inside the collar for the washing instructions._
   - _Each plant at the nursery had a tag listing its species and care needs._
2. A playground game in which one player, known as 'it,' chases the others and tries to touch one of them, who then becomes 'it' in turn.
   - Simple: A children's game where one player chases the others and tries to touch them.
   - _A game of tag broke out on the playground during recess._
   - _After dinner, the cousins organized a huge round of tag across the entire campsite._
3. A keyword or short phrase assigned to digital content, such as a photo or article, that classifies it and makes it easier to search.
   - Simple: A word or short phrase you add to a photo, video, or post so people can find it later.
   - _The blog post carried tags for both 'recipes' and 'budget cooking.'_
   - _Adding a location tag helps the app group your photos by place._
6. A vehicle's license plate, or a small metal plate carrying identifying information, such as a soldier's or pet's ID medal. *(US)*
   - Simple: A license plate on a car, or a small metal piece showing a name or ID number.
   - _His tag had expired, so he renewed his registration at the DMV._
   - _A neighbor found our lost dog and called the number engraved on its tag._
8. A piece of markup code representing an element in a markup language such as HTML or XML.
   - Simple: A short piece of code in a web page that marks where a part begins or ends.
   - _The validator flagged an unclosed tag in the document's header._
   - _HTML tags usually come in pairs, with an opening and a closing form._
10. A graffiti artist's stylized signature, written quickly in a form unique to that artist.
   - Simple: A name written in spray paint in a special style, used like a signature.
   - _The same looping tag showed up on freight cars across three states._
   - _City crews painted over dozens of tags under the highway overpass._
14. In baseball, an act of touching a baserunner with the ball, or with the glove holding the ball, in order to put the runner out.
   - Simple: In baseball, touching a runner with the ball to get them out.
   - _The shortstop applied the tag a split second too late._
   - _Replay review confirmed the tag on the sliding runner._
15. A person's name, in casual or street slang. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A person's name, especially in casual talk.
   - _In the chat room nobody used real names, so I only knew him by his tag._
   - _She picked up the tag Lefty in high school, and it stuck with her for life._
16. A small benign growth of skin that hangs loosely from the body's surface.
   - Simple: A small, soft flap of skin that hangs off the body.
   - _A tag had formed under his arm where the skin rubbed._
   - _She asked the dermatologist whether the tag was anything to worry about._
17. A distinctive personal signature or identifying mark.
   - Simple: A person's own name or mark used as a signature.
   - _Every sketch in the notebook carried her familiar tag in the corner._
   - _Fans can spot her beats right away because of the short vocal tag at the start._
19. The final scene of a television program, frequently revisiting a subplot after the main story concludes.
   - Simple: The short last scene of a TV show, often about a small side story.
   - _Writers used the tag to wrap up the romance running beneath the main plot._
   - _The show's tag teased what next week's episode might bring._
20. A short attribution in narrated dialogue that identifies the speaker or thinker, such as "he said" or "she thought."
   - Simple: A few words in a story that show who said something, like "she asked."
   - _An editor advised her to vary the dialogue tag rather than repeat "said."_
   - _He stripped out the heavy tags so the conversation moved faster._
21. The final line, or last two lines, of a song's chorus, repeated to mark the song's ending.
   - Simple: The last line of a song's chorus, sung again to show the song is ending.
   - _The choir held the last note of the tag for several beats._
   - _She added an extra tag to stretch the closing of the ballad._
22. A small metal tube or point fitted to the end of a lace or cord to keep it stiff and prevent fraying.
   - Simple: The hard tip at the end of a shoelace that stops it from fraying.
   - _Once the plastic tag on a lace cracks, threading it through the eyelets becomes a chore._
   - _In Tudor times, laces for sleeves and doublets were finished with metal tags so they could be pushed through the eyelets._
25. A small appendage attached to or hanging from a larger object.
   - Simple: A small part that hangs from or sticks out of something bigger.
   - _After the puppy chewed it, a ragged tag of leather dangled from the shoe._
   - _A thin tag of wool trailed from the hem of her old sweater._

## Verb

4. To assign a keyword or classifying label to a piece of digital content or data.
   - Simple: To add a keyword to a photo, file, or post so it is easy to find later.
   - _Librarians tag each scanned document with subject keywords._
   - _The app automatically tags uploaded songs by genre._
5. To attach a user's name to an online post or photo, linking their profile and often sending them a notification.
   - Simple: To add someone's name to an online post so they see it and get a link to it.
   - _Please don't tag me in pictures from the party._
   - _He tagged three coworkers in his announcement about the new job._
7. To attach a tag or label to something, or to mark it as being of a particular kind, as if with a label.
   - Simple: To put a tag or label on something, or to mark it as being a certain kind of thing.
   - _Researchers tag migrating birds to track their routes._
   - _The rancher tagged each new calf's ear so he could tell them apart._
9. To follow closely or go along with someone; to accompany.
   - Simple: To follow someone closely or go along with them.
   - _A few reporters tagged along on the senator's bus tour._
   - _Stray dogs would tag after the soldiers from camp to camp._
11. To catch up with and touch another player during a game of tag.
   - Simple: To catch another player and touch them while playing the game of tag.
   - _He sprinted across the playground and tagged the last runner._
   - _Nobody could tag Maya at recess; she dodged every outstretched hand until the bell rang._
12. To mark a wall, train, or other surface with one's graffiti signature.
   - Simple: To write your special signature on a wall or other surface with paint or marker.
   - _Vandals tagged the new mural within a week of its unveiling._
   - _He refused to tag churches, no matter how visible the wall._
13. In baseball, to put a runner out by touching the runner with the ball or with a gloved hand holding the ball.
   - Simple: In baseball, to touch a runner with the ball to get them out.
   - _The first baseman tagged the runner as he dove back to the bag._
   - _Fielders sometimes fake a throw, then tag the runner who strays off base._
18. To fasten or attach one thing onto another.
   - Simple: To join one thing onto another so it stays in place.
   - _The band tagged a slow version of the chorus onto the end of the song._
   - _At the last minute, the city tried to tag a new fee onto everyone's water bill._
23. To hit the ball hard, as in baseball. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To hit a ball really hard.
   - _Power hitters love to tag the first pitch over the left field wall._
   - _He tagged a fastball into the upper deck._
24. A vulgar slang term meaning to have sex with someone, especially said of a man in relation to a woman. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A rude slang way of saying to have sex with someone, usually a man with a woman.
   - _He claimed he could tag any woman in the room._
   - _Word got around that he had tagged half the office._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A short peptide sequence deliberately attached to a protein to help purify, dissolve, or visualize it.
- (noun) The final words, or catchword, of an actor's speech, used as a cue for the next line.
- (noun) A heavy, stiff grade of cardboard, used for tickets, labels, and signs.
- (noun) A clump of a sheep's wool hanging loose and clotted with dung.
- (noun) Something cheap and worthless, or the lowest class of people, as in ragtag.
- (noun) A young sheep less than a year old.
- (verb) To cut away the dung-matted clumps of wool from a sheep's rear.
- (noun) A small crownlike stroke written above certain Hebrew letters in Torah scrolls and other sacred texts, especially in the scribal style called Stam.

## Origin

Middle English tagge meant a small piece hanging from a garment. It probably came from a North Germanic language and is related to Norwegian tagg ("point, prong, barb"), Swedish tagg ("thorn, prickle") and Icelandic tág ("a willow-twig").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/tag (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).