often attributive
1
: a colored usually liquid material for writing and printing
2
: the black protective secretion of a cephalopod
3
slang
: publicity sense 2d
4
informal
: one or more tattoos on a person's body
Whether or not it's your cup of meat, the proliferation of body-art mags suggests that a slew of folks have ink, and they didn't get it from reading the newspaper.—
Albert Mobilio
Albert Mobilio
inked; inking; inks
1
a
: to put ink on
ink a pen
ink a printing block
b
: to draw or write in ink
ink a design
—often used with incarefully inked in the letters
c
: to obliterate with ink
—usually used with out
inked out many lines
2
US, informal
a
: to affix one's signature to : sign sense 2a
an athlete who has inked a new contract
b
: to engage or hire by securing the signature of (someone) on a contract : sign sense 4
… has been inked to do the part of a judge in an HBO special …—Marge Crumbaker
Marge Crumbaker3
informal
: tattoo
… got himself an elaborate tattoo, his first, inked along his right shoulder …—S. L. Price
S. L. PriceKaufman plans on inking a tat to memorialize his accident.—Micah Abrams
Micah AbramsHis heavily muscled arms are inked shoulder to wrist.—Eve Conant
Eve ConantSynonyms
Examples of ink in a Sentence
Noun
Fill out the form using blue or black ink.
The printer is out of ink.
We're using four different inks for this poster.
Verb
They just inked a new partnership agreement.
the basketball star just inked a two-year contract with the most celebrated franchise in the NBA
Recent Examples on the WebJack Irvin, Peoplemag, 25 Apr. 2024
Although the style may at first appear traditional, this garden was designed in the 1960s by Mirei Shigemori, a landscape architect whose training was in the Japanese cultural arts: conducting the tea ceremony, flower arranging, and landscape ink and wash painting.
—Paula Deitz, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2024
Her drawings have the power and presence of oil paintings but are made from charcoal or India ink.
—Dodie Kazanjian, Vogue, 20 Apr. 2024
An ocean of ink is currently being spilled about Watt’s powers of galvanization—but rest assured, the hype is warranted.
—Morgan Enos, SPIN, 19 Apr. 2024
Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta star Sierra Gates got some new ink, sitting for a robust tattoo that runs from her stomach to her calf.
—Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 16 Apr. 2024
Kids will love doodling and practicing their numbers and letters then watching the ink magically disappear.
—Laura Lu, Parents, 15 Apr. 2024
One entertainment titan ended up eking out a small profit for its streaming unit, while two others narrowed their losses in their divisions with their core streaming businesses, with one of those promising to start turning black ink this year.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Apr. 2024
The use of ink bottles rather than ink cartridges lowers running costs over the long term as well.
—David Nield / Gizmodo, Quartz, 8 Apr. 2024
Wendy Lee, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Blackpink’s Lisa is laying the groundwork for the next stage of her solo career by inking a new deal with RCA Records.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2024
The man who inked the largest contract in franchise history until LaMelo Ball took the crown with his max rookie extension was back in the building, affixed in a familiar place for the anticipated homecoming: on the bench in street clothes.
—Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 8 Apr. 2024
Matt Damon and his wife Luciana Barroso joined the couple for the tattoo outing, with Damon, 53, also getting inked — while Hemsworth held his hand and patted his head.
—Gabrielle Rockson, Peoplemag, 8 Apr. 2024
County officials there inked a deal with the base to construct a firing range and training center.
—Shawn Raymundo, The Arizona Republic, 29 Mar. 2024
Labor groups inked a first-of-its-kind deal to support local hiring and union jobs with the developer of New York’s first offshore wind port.
—Justine Calma, The Verge, 28 Mar. 2024
In January, the company inked a co-financing and production partnership with Fifth Season, with docus about celebrated photographer Richard Avedon and Martin Short on the initial slate.
—Addie Morfoot, Variety, 21 Mar. 2024
Now that gambling on sports is legal in 38 states, every league has inked multi-million-dollar deals with casinos and sports betting companies.
—Will Yakowicz, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Noun
This writer is of the firm belief that our tears become holy in the form of ink on a page.
—Jack Irvin, Peoplemag, 25 Apr. 2024
Although the style may at first appear traditional, this garden was designed in the 1960s by Mirei Shigemori, a landscape architect whose training was in the Japanese cultural arts: conducting the tea ceremony, flower arranging, and landscape ink and wash painting.
—Paula Deitz, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2024
Her drawings have the power and presence of oil paintings but are made from charcoal or India ink.
—Dodie Kazanjian, Vogue, 20 Apr. 2024
An ocean of ink is currently being spilled about Watt’s powers of galvanization—but rest assured, the hype is warranted.
—Morgan Enos, SPIN, 19 Apr. 2024
Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta star Sierra Gates got some new ink, sitting for a robust tattoo that runs from her stomach to her calf.
—Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 16 Apr. 2024
Kids will love doodling and practicing their numbers and letters then watching the ink magically disappear.
—Laura Lu, Parents, 15 Apr. 2024
One entertainment titan ended up eking out a small profit for its streaming unit, while two others narrowed their losses in their divisions with their core streaming businesses, with one of those promising to start turning black ink this year.
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Apr. 2024
The use of ink bottles rather than ink cartridges lowers running costs over the long term as well.
—David Nield / Gizmodo, Quartz, 8 Apr. 2024
Verb
She’s inked branding deals over the years with companies including Google .
—Wendy Lee, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Blackpink’s Lisa is laying the groundwork for the next stage of her solo career by inking a new deal with RCA Records.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2024
The man who inked the largest contract in franchise history until LaMelo Ball took the crown with his max rookie extension was back in the building, affixed in a familiar place for the anticipated homecoming: on the bench in street clothes.
—Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 8 Apr. 2024
Matt Damon and his wife Luciana Barroso joined the couple for the tattoo outing, with Damon, 53, also getting inked — while Hemsworth held his hand and patted his head.
—Gabrielle Rockson, Peoplemag, 8 Apr. 2024
County officials there inked a deal with the base to construct a firing range and training center.
—Shawn Raymundo, The Arizona Republic, 29 Mar. 2024
Labor groups inked a first-of-its-kind deal to support local hiring and union jobs with the developer of New York’s first offshore wind port.
—Justine Calma, The Verge, 28 Mar. 2024
In January, the company inked a co-financing and production partnership with Fifth Season, with docus about celebrated photographer Richard Avedon and Martin Short on the initial slate.
—Addie Morfoot, Variety, 21 Mar. 2024
Now that gambling on sports is legal in 38 states, every league has inked multi-million-dollar deals with casinos and sports betting companies.
—Will Yakowicz, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ink.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near ink
Cite this Entry
“Ink.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ink. Accessed 28 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ink
1 of 2 noun1
: a usually liquid material for writing or printing
2
: the black protective secretion of a cephalopod
ink
2 of 2 verb1
: to put ink on
2
: to write or draw in ink
inker
noun
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