Definitions for tattoo
tæˈtutat·too

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. tattoonoun

   a drumbeat or bugle call that signals the military to return to their quarters

2. tattoonoun

   a design on the skin made by tattooing

3. tattooverb

   the practice of making a design on the skin by pricking and staining

4. tattooverb

   stain (skin) with indelible color

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Tattoonoun

   a beat of drum, or sound of a trumpet or bugle, at night, giving notice to soldiers to retreat, or to repair to their quarters in garrison, or to their tents in camp

2. Tattooverb

   to color, as the flesh, by pricking in coloring matter, so as to form marks or figures which can not be washed out

3. Tattoonoun

   an indelible mark or figure made by puncturing the skin and introducing some pigment into the punctures; -- a mode of ornamentation practiced by various barbarous races, both in ancient and modern times, and also by some among civilized nations, especially by sailors

Freebase(3.67 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Tattoo

   A tattoo is a form of body modification, made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. The first written reference to the word, "tattoo" appears in the journal of Joseph Banks, the naturalist aboard Captain Cook's ship the HMS Endeavour: "I shall now mention the way they mark themselves indelibly, each of them is so marked by their humor or disposition". The word "tattoo" was brought to Europe by the explorer James Cook, when he returned in 1771 from his first voyage to Tahiti and New Zealand. In his narrative of the voyage, he refers to an operation called "tattaw". Before this it had been described as scarring, painting, or staining. Tattooing has been practiced for centuries in many cultures, particularly in Asia, and spread throughout the world. The Ainu, an indigenous people of Japan, traditionally had facial tattoos. Today, one can find Atayal, Seediq, Truku, and Saisiyat of Taiwan, Berbers of Tamazgha, Yoruba, Fulani and Hausa people of Nigeria, and Māori of New Zealand with facial tattoos. Tattooing spread among Polynesians and among certain tribal groups in Africa, Borneo, Cambodia, Europe, Japan, the Mentawai Islands, MesoAmerica, New Zealand, North America and South America, the Philippines, and Taiwan. Indeed, the island of Great Britain takes its name from tattooing; Britons translates as "people of the designs", and Picts, the peoples who originally inhabited the northern part of Britain, literally means "the painted people". Despite some taboos surrounding tattooing, the practice continues to be popular in many parts of the world.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Tattoo

   tat-tōō′, n. a beat of drum and a bugle-call to call soldiers to quarters, originally to shut the taps or drinking-houses against them.—The devil's tattoo, the act of drumming with the fingers on a table, &c.; in absence of mind or impatience. [Dut. taptoe—tap, a tap, and toe, which is the prep., Eng. to. Ger. zu, in the sense of 'shut.']

2. Tattoo

   tat-tōō′, v.t. to mark permanently (as the skin) with figures, by pricking in colouring-matter.—n. marks or figures made by pricking colouring-matter into the skin.—ns. Tattoo′āge; Tattoo′er; Tattoo′ing. [Tahitian tatu.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. tattoo

   The evening sound of drum or trumpet, after which the roll is called, and all soldiers not on leave of absence should be in their quarters.

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. tattoo

   The evening sound of drum or trumpet, after which the roll is called, and all soldiers not on leave of absence should be in their quarters.

Matched Categories

1. • Bugle Call
   • Design
   • Drumbeat
   • Stain

How to pronounce tattoo?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say tattoo in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of tattoo in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of tattoo in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of tattoo in a Sentence

1. Linda Haynes-Williams:

   I'm getting my first tattoo in honor of him and I'm scared to death, it looks like a dove holding his symbol, flying away and the dove has a teardrop coming out of its eye.

2. Akram Al Deek:

   Notes To Self: 1.The falling of autumn leaves is not your fault. 2.Stop piling candles for decoration. They are meant to be burnt. 3.Silence has a voice of its own. Listen to your own silence. 4.A piece of advice from a divorced and a formerly political prisoner: “to be successful, avoid two things: women and politics!” 5.A semi-colon is the middle finger in a sentence when writing fiction. 6.Be sadist when you write. Good things come out of your character only when bad things happen to them. 7.A comedian once said: if you are looking for sympathy in life, you will only find it in the dictionary between shit and syphilis. 8.No expectations. Just instincts. 9.Undergraduate degrees of creative writing are rubbish. They are vehicles of producing mass ignorance. Because if undergraduates want to become writers, they have to spend their twenties reading excessively first. 10.Every time you get rejected by a publisher, be thankful. It is a boost for your ego to keep going forward. It is a second chance to reflect, write, and edit. It is a rebirth. It is similar to being given the question-sheet in an exam to revisit your answers before you submit your paper. 11.You are fake and hypocritical when you write for fame or political purpose. These are exterior. Honest and free writing is interior: that is when you write for yourself. 12.Mark things in green. It is the colour of grace, hope and nature. Red is bloody and fascist. 13.Reason, not need. - King Lear 14.Your body is roughly 72 per cent water. Keep hydrated. 15.Read alone. Write alone. Eat accompanied. 16.Do not drive all the time. Cycle when possible. 17.More radio. Less TV. 18.Read more. Write less. Writing comes later. 19.Sing to a mirror. 20.Re-paint your walls. 21.Read an article or summarise a short story a day. 22.Learn a new word a day too. 23.Become drunk with poetry. 24.Watch foreign films. 25.Buy mother a piece of jewellery with first salary. 26.Publish a book before you are 30. 27.Practice poetry. For fun. 28.Have a tattoo you will regret. 29.Put that bloody mobile phone down! Do not become a machine driven by machines! 30.Speak less. Listen more.

3. Tracy Brown:

   My wife encouraged her because she was such a great artist, she called me her tattoo board.

4. Crystal Aguh:

   You may be completely normal, completely healthy, but there could be something about the red pigment that your body just does not like, if you've never been exposed to it before there would be no way for you to know before getting the tattoo.

5. Tom Zegan:

   Having a body tattoo is like wearing the same shirt everyday for the rest of your life.

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