tattoo
tattoo — noun
1. a permanent picture, pattern, or piece of writing that is made on a person's ski
a permanent picture, pattern, or piece of writing that is made on a person's skin using a needle to push coloured ink beneath the surface; temporary sticker-like designs that look similar are also called tattoos.
A large eagle tattoo covers the whole of Rafael's back.
adjective + tattoo to describe size/subject
The artist spent three hours working on the dragon tattoo on Trang's arm.
Temporary tattoos are popular with children at summer festivals.
After her trip to Japan, Noor had a small cherry blossom tattoo done on her wrist.
Adisa designed his own tattoo to represent his family's history.
文法句型
a/the tattoo
adjective + tattoo
用法筆記
Can be modified by 'temporary' to refer to a sticker-like design that lasts days or weeks, as opposed to a permanent tattoo. The phrase 'get a tattoo' is the most common way to talk about receiving one.
常見錯誤
2. an outdoor public event where soldiers perform marching, play music, and carry o
an outdoor public event where soldiers perform marching, play music, and carry out military exercises, often as evening entertainment.
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo attracts thousands of visitors each summer.
proper noun with Military Tattoo for specific events
Joon watched the tattoo at the army base with his grandfather.
The band played traditional marching songs during the military tattoo.
Beatrix said the evening tattoo was the best part of her visit to the base.
- military display
more general term for any armed forces exhibition
- march-past
focuses specifically on the marching component
文法句型
a/the tattoo
the [name] Military Tattoo
用法筆記
Often capitalized (Military Tattoo) when referring to a specific named event. The Edinburgh Military Tattoo is the most famous example. This sense has no connection to skin decoration.
常見錯誤
3. a rapid, repeated beat on a drum, especially one used in military settings to si
a rapid, repeated beat on a drum, especially one used in military settings to signal soldiers or announce the start of an event.
The drummer played a sharp tattoo to call the soldiers back to camp.
play a tattoo + drumming context
A loud tattoo on the drum told everyone the ceremony was about to start.
At dawn, the drummer's tattoo rang out across the parade ground, waking the sleeping soldiers.
Emre could hear the distant tattoo from the camp every evening.
文法句型
a/the tattoo
beat/play a tattoo
用法筆記
This sense is historically related to the 'military show' sense (both derive from a signal to return to quarters). It is rarely used in everyday conversation today outside of historical or literary contexts.
tattoo — verb
1. to put a permanent design or writing onto someone's skin using a needle and colo
to put a permanent design or writing onto someone's skin using a needle and coloured ink; can also refer to the work done by a professional artist in a shop.
An experienced artist tattooed a small bird on Zola's shoulder.
tattoo + design + on + body part
Mia decided to tattoo her daughter's name on her forearm.
The shop refused to tattoo anyone under the age of eighteen.
Eitan spent six years training before he could tattoo customers professionally.
Many people choose to tattoo meaningful symbols rather than names.
- ink
informal slang, e.g. 'He inked her arm with a dragon'
文法句型
tattoo + design (on + body part)
tattoo + body part (with + design)
tattoo + someone/something
用法筆記
The person receiving the tattoo can be the direct object ('tattoo someone') or the object of 'on' ('tattoo a design on someone'). The past participle 'tattooed' is commonly used as an adjective ('a tattooed arm').