tattoo

CEFRB1

/tæˈtuː/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

01
noun
A permanent design marked on the skin.
02
verb
To mark the skin with a permanent design.

Examples

She has a tattoo of a lizard on her thigh.
Do you have a tattoo?

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses: 5
Parts of speech: 2
Citations: 5

Also pronounced

[t(ʰ)aˈtʰʉː]
[tɐˈɾ̥uː]

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

A method of decorating a body part, usually the skin, by inserting colored substances under the surface with a sharp instrument (usually a solenoid-driven needle).
To apply a tattoo to (someone or something).
An image made on a body part, usually the skin with ink and a needle.

More examples

In context

Jones tattoos one into the gap in left; that will clear the bases.
His shirt sleeves were turned up, so upon his brawny arms his tattooes were visible.
She made Silas tattoo an anchor on her arm like his

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

He decided to get a permanent blank of his favorite symbol on his left arm.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Citations

The word in print, with each source given in full.

His shirt sleeves were turned up, so upon his brawny arms his tattooes were visible.
[1890], John Law [pseudonym; Margaret Harkness], “George, the Caretaker”, in A City Girl. A Realistic Story., 2nd edition, London: Authors’ Co-operative Publishing Co., Ltd. […],...
Nothing pleases a Burman more than to be asked to show his tattooes. He is as delighted as a collector of curios in England. They consist of a series of pictures of tigers, lions, elephants, dragons, demons, and what-not, surrounded by mottoes invoking good fortune, and round waist and knees the whole is framed by a neat floral or scroll pattern.
1898, W[illiam] S[proston] Caine, “Burma”, in Picturesque India: A Handbook for European Travellers, London: George Routledge and Sons Limited; New York, N.Y.: E[dward] P[ayson] Dutton and Co., →OCLC, page 622
Almost a century and a half after the De Soto Expedition, Joutel (Cox, 1905, II: 139–140), one of La Salle’s men, reacted to the Caddoes in much the same way as had De la Vega, finding their tattooes particularly repulsive. The Caddoes used needles or other sharp-pointed objects to prick the skin until the blood flowed, and then rubbed powdered charcoal into the wounds. When the wounds healed, the charcoal remaining under the skin made striking tattooes.
1961, W[illiam] W[ilmon] Newcomb, Jr., “The Caddo Confederacies: East Texas”, in The Indians of Texas: From Prehistoric to Modern Times, Austin, Tex.: University of Texas Press, published 1965 (3rd printing), →LCCN, part IV (Barbaric Gardeners), page 289
Victor was spot on, of course; in fact, I have often been tempted to seek him out when I have been plagued by diseases of the heart. He'd be able to tell me in ten seconds whether someone was worth a tattoo or not.
1995, Nick Hornby, High Fidelity, London: Victor Gollancz, →ISBN, page 22
And here's a solution to an age old tattoo problem. If your girlfriend's name, say, "Suzie," is tattooed on your arm, and you break up with her, don't have the tattoo removed. Just have the tattoo reworked so it says, "Fuck Suzie."
1997, George Carlin, Brain Droppings, New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 31

Keep tattoo

Looking a word up is the easy part. LexUp remembers which words you have met and brings them back at the point you were about to forget them.

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

Origin

noun

From earlier tattaow, tattow, a borrowing from a Polynesian language, e.g. Samoan tatau (“tattoo; to tap, to strike”).

Deep Dive

noun

More examples

Quick test

He decided to get a permanent blank— of his favorite symbol on his left arm.

Nearby

Origin

noun

He decided to get a permanent blank of his favorite symbol on his left arm.