# tattoo

Pronunciation: say "ta-TOO" US/UK /tæˈtuː/, AUS /tæˈtʉː/

## Noun

1. An image made on part of the body, usually on the skin with ink and a needle.
   - Simple: A picture put on someone's body, usually with ink and a needle.
   - _He got a tattoo of his daughter's name on his forearm._
   - _Her tattoos had faded after years of working outdoors._
3. The practice of decorating part of the body, usually the skin, by using a sharp instrument, typically an electrically driven needle, to put colored pigment beneath the surface.
   - Simple: A way of decorating the body, usually the skin, by putting color under it with a sharp tool.
   - _The museum's new exhibit traces the history of tattoo from ancient mummies to modern studios._
   - _She was drawn to tattoo as an art form long before she got any ink herself._
4. A military display or pageant performed for an audience.
   - Simple: A big public show put on by soldiers.
   - _The regiment's pipers and drummers opened the evening tattoo on the parade ground._
   - _Each August the city hosts a tattoo with massed bands from a dozen countries._
5. A drum or bugle signal ordering soldiers to return to their quarters, sounded shortly before lights-out.
   - Simple: A drum or bugle call telling soldiers to go back to where they sleep, just before lights-out.
   - _The bugler sounded tattoo, and the men filed back to their barracks._
   - _By the time tattoo was beaten, the camp had already gone quiet._
8. A pony of a particular breed from India.
   - Simple: A pony of a special kind that comes from India.
   - _The officer rode a sturdy little tattoo along the hill road._
   - _The boy led the tattoo down to the river to drink._

## Verb

2. To mark someone or something with a tattoo.
   - Simple: To put a tattoo on someone or something.
   - _Many breeders tattoo their dogs' ears so that lost pets can be identified._
   - _She tattooed her own ankle with a kit she bought online._
6. To tap rhythmically on something, as if drumming.
   - Simple: To tap on something with a steady beat, like a drum.
   - _Woodpeckers tattoo on the dead oak every morning at sunrise._
   - _Stuck in traffic, he tattooed a restless rhythm on the steering wheel._
7. To hit the ball hard, as if to leave a tattoo on it.
   - Simple: To hit the ball very hard in baseball.
   - _Ramirez tattooed a fastball off the center-field wall._
   - _He can tattoo a high fastball whenever a pitcher leaves one over the plate._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–3, 7** — From earlier tattaow and tattow, borrowed from a Polynesian language; compare, for example, Samoan tatau ("tattoo; to tap, to strike").
**Meanings 4–6** — From earlier tap-to, borrowed from Dutch taptoe, from tap ("tap; faucet on a cask") + toe ("to; shut").
**Meaning 8** — From Hindi टट्टू (ṭaṭṭū).

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