tans

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of tan.

   By September, most of the lifeguards' tans had begun to fade.

   The paint chart offered a dozen tans ranging from sandy beige to deep chestnut.

   Note

   The plural comes most naturally in two places: shades of the color, as on a paint chart, and suntans, which fade and get compared. The oak bark used for tannic acid and the Armenian yogurt drink take a plural less readily. As a synonym of picul in Cantonese contexts, tan is usually uncountable, so tans is rare there. The same spelling is also the verb's present form.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of tan.

   The workshop tans hides using bark and natural oils rather than chemicals.

   She tans more deeply each summer she spends on the coast.

   Note

   Whether the verb has an object decides which tan is meant. Without one, it is about skin: she tans easily. With one, it is usually a tanner's work on hides, but informally it can mean a spanking or beating. In Multicultural London English slang, to tan someone means to shoot them, so in casual speech the object changes the meaning entirely.

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