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tattoo1

Pronunciation: /taˈtuː/
Translate tattoo | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of tattoo

noun (plural tattoos)

  • an evening drum or bugle signal recalling soldiers to their quarters: a military tattoo takes place with clockwork precision
  • British an entertainment consisting of music, marching, and the performance of displays and exercises by military personnel: a visit to Edinburgh during the Festival includes a visit to the Tattoo a crash involving two Russian jet fighters at the International Air Tattoo
  • a rhythmic tapping or drumming: she tapped her fingers in a nervous tattoo

Origin:

mid 17th century (originally as tap-too) from Dutch taptoe!, literally 'close the tap (of the cask)!'

Spelling help

Remember that tattoo is spelled with a double t and a double o.

Spelling rule

Make the plural of the noun in the usual way, by adding -s: (tattoos).

tattoo in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of tattoo in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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