tag

1 of 5

noun (1)

ˈtag 

plural tags

1

: a loose hanging piece of cloth : tatter

2

: a metal or plastic binding on an end of a shoelace

3

: a piece of hanging or attached material

specifically : a loop, knot, or tassel on a garment

4

a

: a brief quotation used for rhetorical emphasis or sententious effect

b

: a recurrent or characteristic verbal expression

c

: tagline sense 2

5

a

: a cardboard, plastic, or metal marker used for identification or classification

license tags

b

: a descriptive or identifying epithet

c

: something used for identification or location : flag

d

: label sense 1d

e

: price tag

f

: an element of code in a computer document used especially to control format and layout or to establish a hyperlink

g

: hashtag

… nuns shared their daily lives on Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter with the tag #MediaNuns …

—Elizabeth Bruenig

h

: a string of text (such as the symbol @ followed by a person's username) that is used to tag a person or account in a social media post

While it's impossible to prohibit a friend from tagging you, Facebook allows you to review all tags before they appear on your profile.

—Lara Webster

6

: a detached fragmentary piece : bit

7

: a graffito in the form of an identifying name or symbol

tag

2 of 5

verb (1)

tagged; tagging; tags

transitive verb

1

: to provide or mark with or as if with a tag: such as

a

: to supply with an identifying marker or price

was tagged at $4.95

b

: to provide with a name or epithet : label, brand

tagged him a has-been

c

: to put a ticket on (a motor vehicle) for a traffic violation

d

: to deface with a graffito usually in the form of the defacer's nickname

e

: to supply (something, such as a social media post) with a hashtag

Don't forget to submit your photos of Montreal via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram by tagging them with #ThisMtl.

—Montreal Gazette

f

: to mention (another person or account) in a social media post in a way that causes the person or account to be notified of the post

On Facebook, if someone wants to get your attention or make it clear to others that you are somehow connected to a post, they can tag you in it. Your name will be mentioned in the post or with the photo, and everyone else who sees it will also know that you are mentioned.

—Dave Johnson

Knowing how to tag someone on Facebook means also knowing how to tag someone on Twitter and Instagram. Simply use the @ symbol to start a tag.

—ThriveHive.com

My friends went back and tagged me in all the photos I'd missed …

—Rachel Kraus

Instagram allows users to reshare posts they've been tagged in to their own Story.

—Devon Delfino

2

: to attach as an addition : append

3

: to follow closely and persistently

4

: to hold to account

especially : to charge with violating the law

was tagged for … assault

—Burt Woolis

5

: label sense 2

intransitive verb

: to keep close

tagging at their heels

—Corey Ford

tag

3 of 5

noun (2)

1

: a game in which the player who is it chases others and tries to touch one of them who then becomes it

2

: an act or instance of tagging a runner in baseball

tag

4 of 5

verb (2)

tagged; tagging

transitive verb

1

a

: to touch in or as if in a game of tag

b

: to put out (a runner) in baseball by a touch with the ball or the gloved hand containing the ball

2

: to hit solidly

3

: to choose usually for a special purpose : select

4

: to make a hit or run off (a pitcher) in baseball

the batter tagged him for a home run

TAG

5 of 5

abbreviation

the adjutant general

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• label
• marker
• ticket

Verb (1)

• label
• mark
• ticket

Verb (2)

• bang
• bash
• bat
• belt
• biff
• bludgeon
• bob
• bonk
• bop
• box
• bust
• clap
• clip
• clobber
• clock
• clout
• crack
• hammer
• hit
• knock
• nail
• paste
• pound
• punch
• rap
• slam
• slap
• slog
• slug
• smack
• smite
• sock
• strike
• swat
• swipe
• thump
• thwack
• wallop
• whack
• whale
• zap

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

And the tutorial includes an adorbs printable gift tag. —Jill Gleeson, Country Living, 23 Mar. 2023

On the negative side, first basemen and second basemen are also three inches closer to the base to make the tag. —Bernie Pleskoff, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2023

The catcher received the ball but didn't try to apply the tag. —Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press, 22 Mar. 2023

Then, share the post in your stories and tag Blakely. —Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 22 Mar. 2023

The #restaurantreview tag boasts more than 1.3 billion views, and turns up an endless scroll of videos. —Sam Stone, Bon Appétit, 22 Mar. 2023

Meanwhile, the full price tag for lawsuits related to the Floyd protests will likely grow well beyond this month’s multimillion-dollar settlement. —Jake Pearson, ProPublica, 21 Mar. 2023

Twitch is also starting to roll out tag impressions so streamers can see what categories can potentially attract the most viewers to their channel. —Ash Parrish, The Verge, 21 Mar. 2023

The tag means any team that signs Jackson to an offer sheet must be willing to surrender two first-round picks and ostensibly north of $40 million per year — the going rate for young QBs with a pulse and a playoff berth — for his services. —Christopher L. Gasper, BostonGlobe.com, 20 Mar. 2023

Verb

Is Thurman’s suit Yohji?), the fact that the account doesn’t tag any of these brands feels refreshing, a throwback to a time before every red-carpet moment was a co-branding opportunity. —Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2023

The photo posted on the golfer's Instagram showed Woods and Herman sporting matching Dodgers jerseys, though Woods did not name or tag his significant other in the post. —Lynsey Eidell, Peoplemag, 8 Mar. 2023

Seems like u guys tag me in a new post every day... —Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, 7 Mar. 2023

Lopes came off the bag for a split second, giving Marte time to tag him out. —Nick Piecoro, The Arizona Republic, 4 Mar. 2023

While Puth didn’t tag the woman in the photo, Instagram sleuths determined the singer’s lady love was Brooke Sansone. —Glenn Rowley, Billboard, 2 Dec. 2022

Unfortunately, Trisha didn't tag her outfit deets, but Amazon has a pretty similar style here and here. —Chaise Sanders, Country Living, 26 Nov. 2022

Recently though, his second job asked to tag him in a LinkedIn post—which would, of course, have alerted his first job to his predicament. —WIRED, 10 Oct. 2022

Kansas City could tag him once again during the 14-day window that opened Tuesday. —Katie Mcinerney, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Mar. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English tagge; akin to Middle Low German tagge, tacke twig, spike

Noun (2)

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

1627, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (2)

1738, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

1878, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing tag

• carries a hefty price tag
• hefty price tag
• put a price tag on
• dog tag
• tag sale
• tag end
• tag, rag, and bobtail
• price tag
• tag team
• skin tag
• radio-tag
• tag up
• name tag
• telephone tag
• phone tag
• tag question
• tag along

See More

• carries a hefty price tag
• hefty price tag
• put a price tag on
• dog tag
• tag sale
• tag end
• tag, rag, and bobtail
• price tag
• tag team
• skin tag
• radio-tag
• tag up
• name tag
• telephone tag
• phone tag
• tag question
• tag along

See More

Kids Definition

tag

1 of 4 noun

ˈtag 

1

: a loose hanging piece of cloth : tatter

2

: a metal or plastic binding on an end of a shoelace

3

: tag line

4

a

: something (as a marker) used for identification

specifically : hangtag

b

: a part of a computer file that controls the format or layout of a document or that indicates a hyperlink (as "〈it〉" to indicate italic type)

tag

2 of 4 verb

tagged; tagging

1

: to provide or mark with or as if with a tag

2

: to follow closely and continuously

3

: label entry 2 sense 3

tag

3 of 4 noun

1

: a game in which one player who is it chases the others and tries to touch one of them to make that person it

2

: an act or instance of tagging a runner in baseball

tag

4 of 4 verb

tagged; tagging

1

: to touch in a game of tag

2

: to put out (a runner) in baseball by touching with the ball or with the gloved hand holding the ball

Etymology

Noun

Middle English tagge "a hanging piece of loose cloth"; of Germanic origin

Noun

origin unknown

Medical Definition

tag

1 of 2 noun

ˈtag 

1

a

: a shred of flesh or muscle

b

: a small abnormal projecting piece of tissue especially when potentially or actually neoplastic in character

2

: label

tag

2 of 2 transitive verb

tagged; tagging

: label

tagged antibodies