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
Alex Ross, New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2026
Two ink grocery bags were used to store cooked chicken inside the walk-in freezer.
—Sacbee.com, 13 Mar. 2026
Cheryl Winokur Munk, CNBC, 14 Mar. 2026
Cap update The 49ers’ cap is starting to fill after the team inked Mike Evans, traded for Owa Odighizuwa and acquired Greenlaw.
—Matt Barrows, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ink
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Noun
This is in a different ink from the rest, and has the look of something added later.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2026
Two ink grocery bags were used to store cooked chicken inside the walk-in freezer.
—Sacbee.com, 13 Mar. 2026
Verb
Chicago inked a multi-decade deal in 2008 to privatize parking meters.
—Cheryl Winokur Munk, CNBC, 14 Mar. 2026
Cap update The 49ers’ cap is starting to fill after the team inked Mike Evans, traded for Owa Odighizuwa and acquired Greenlaw.
—Matt Barrows, New York Times, 12 Mar. 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 16 Mar. 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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