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 Conant
-er/-est
: consisting of, using, or resembling ink
the inky blackness of the ocean—F. G. Kay
: soiled with or as if with ink : black
F. G. Kayinky collars and dirty fingernails—Angela Thirkell
Angela Thirkellinky
4 of 4variant spelling of inkie
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 Web
Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 11 June 2026
For Charo Oquet, the exhibition became an opportunity to unite works dating back to 2014 with sweeping wall ink drawings created specifically for the museum show.
—Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 11 June 2026
Antonio Pequeño Iv, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026
Whether Arivu was forced to get a word inked across his forehead may not matter.
—T.m. Brown, CNN Money, 12 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for ink
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Noun
Just a few lines of ink could drive a lot of business to the affordable mom-and-pop shops that are Rosati’s beat.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 11 June 2026
For Charo Oquet, the exhibition became an opportunity to unite works dating back to 2014 with sweeping wall ink drawings created specifically for the museum show.
—Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 11 June 2026
Verb
Musk’s company has inked lucrative AI deals with Anthropic and Google and plans to be the domineering firm behind orbital data centers, which SpaceX has said could be deployed as early as 2028.
—Antonio Pequeño Iv, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026
Whether Arivu was forced to get a word inked across his forehead may not matter.
—T.m. Brown, CNN Money, 12 June 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 15 Jun. 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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