Tat Meaning
/tæt/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounCheap and vulgar tastelessness; sleaze.
nounCheap, tasteless, useless goods; trinkets.
Sentence Examples
The Turkish coup d'état occurred on September 12, 1980.
Tom insulted me severely, but I gave him tit for tat.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The store was filled with cheap ____ that no one with good taste would buy.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The traditional craft of making ____ involves using a small shuttle to create several intricate patterns of lace today.
Word Origin & History
From Hindi टाट (ṭāṭ, “thick canvas”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"And it agreed with the editorial cartoon which featured a newsman doing a live report in front of a smouldering building and saying, "And it seems millions of pounds of meaningless tat has been lost to the nation for ever.""
— 2004 May 28, Thomas Sutcliffe, “Why Britart is a burning issue”, in The Independent:
"She's so swishy in her satin and tat / In her frock coat and bipperty-bopperty hat"
— 1971, David Bowie, “Queen Bitch”, in Hunky Dory:
"And so each morning before daybreak I am up, and having dispatched my luggage on the backs of coolies after much noise and bustle, without which no natives can work, I mount my tat as the sun begins to touch the higher hills, and start on my morning ride of twelve miles."
— 1879, Val Cameron Prinsep, Glimpses of Imperial India, page 206:
"Now give me my cable, fast food, four-by's, tats, right away I want it now."
— 1998 November 17, “Americana” (track 22), in Supercharged: Worldwide in '25, performed by The Offspring:
"I'm diplomatic playing pen and pad. Rat-a-tat, you're a scaredy-catcause I have a tat put you up like that. You can't stand that cause you've got to scat."
— 1999 September 14, “I Can't Wait” (track 2), in Nigga Please, performed by Ol' Dirty Bastard:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The store was filled with cheap ____ that no one with good taste would buy.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The traditional craft of making ____ involves using a small shuttle to create several intricate patterns of lace today.