tat
tat Lexical Profile
tat Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A tattoo; a permanent design or mark made on the skin with ink.
"He rolled up his sleeve to show off the new tat on his forearm."
British Tasteless, poorly made, or shabby goods, ornaments, or junk.
"The souvenir shop near the pier was filled with overpriced plastic tat."
A blow, stroke, or equivalent return, used almost exclusively in the phrase 'tit for tat'.
"Their diplomatic dispute quickly escalated into a game of tit for tat."
Coarse cloth or matting woven from jute or hemp fibers, originating in South Asia.
"Bundles of raw tat were stacked in the warehouse to be made into sacking."
• verb
To mark the skin with a tattoo (informal).
"The artist offered to tat his initials onto her wrist."
To make knotted lace by hand using a small shuttle to form loops and picots.
"Her grandmother taught her how to tat delicate lace edgings for handkerchiefs."
Word Nuance & Usage
The word 'tat' represents several unrelated homonyms: in informal global English it is a clipping of 'tattoo', in British slang it refers to cheap or tasteless merchandise (giving rise to the adjective 'tatty'), and in textile crafts it refers to the verb 'to tat' (making knotted lace with a shuttle).
• Rhymes for tat
Word Origin & Etymology
In the sense of a body marking, it is a mid-20th-century informal shortening of 'tattoo' (of Polynesian origin). The British sense meaning 'junk or rags' dates to the 19th century, likely derived from 'tatter', while the lace-making verb is a 19th-century back-formation from 'tatting'.