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 ConantExamples 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 Web
Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 8 Jan. 2026
As the name suggests, everything—from cover to pages—is black, so just any ink won’t show up.
—Kristina Rutkowski, Vogue, 6 Jan. 2026
Ashlyn Robinette, PEOPLE, 9 Jan. 2026
However, after less than a year since inking the deal, Avelo has admitted that the program became too costly and complex to continue.
—David Matthews, New York Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ink
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Noun
However, private investment firms of ultra-rich families were in no rush to ink deals before the year-end.
—Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 8 Jan. 2026
As the name suggests, everything—from cover to pages—is black, so just any ink won’t show up.
—Kristina Rutkowski, Vogue, 6 Jan. 2026
Verb
Wrixon started with one tattoo, but has had about six more inked by his fiancée, with one being an entire leg sleeve.
—Ashlyn Robinette, PEOPLE, 9 Jan. 2026
However, after less than a year since inking the deal, Avelo has admitted that the program became too costly and complex to continue.
—David Matthews, New York Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ink
Cite this Entry
“Ink.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ink. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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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