tat

play

verb \ ˈtat \

Definition of tat

tatted; tatting

intransitive verb

:to work at tatting

transitive verb

:to make by tatting

Origin and Etymology of tat

back-formation from tatting

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1858

See Words from the same year

Other Handicraft Terms

biscuit, darn, tambour, wrought

tat

play

noun \ ˈtat \

variants: or Tat

Definition of tat

:a small protein produced by a lentivirus (such as HIV) that greatly increases the rate of viral transcription and replication and enhances the susceptibility of T cells to infection; also :the viral gene that codes for the tat protein

Origin and Etymology of tat

trans-activating transcriptional regulation

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1985

See Words from the same year

Other Biochemistry Terms

bile, biodegradable, capsaicin, keratin, metabolism

tat

play

noun \ ˈtat \

Definition of tat

chiefly US slang

:a tattoo on a person's skin

He pulls up his shirt to show us his tats.
—Dave Eggers

—

tat

verb

Origin and Etymology of tat

by shortening

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1987

See Words from the same year

tat

verb

Definition of tat

tatted; tatting

transitive verb

chiefly US slang

1 :to mark or color the skin with tattoos :tattoo

The benefit of getting tatted at a festival is that you have more than 200 artists from which to choose.
—Kellie Hwang

—often used with up

… say you're not a gang member, yet hang out with gang members, get tatted up with gang symbols or nicknames …
—Kimberly Edds

2 :to mark (something) with something like a tattoo

Cargo trains, all rusted and tatted with graffiti, occasionally pass on the neighboring track.
—Kara Starzyk

—often used with up

My passport got tatted up pretty good this year. I hit a dozen countries on five continents, as well as eight states.
—The Chicago Sun-Times

First Known Use of tat

1995

TAT

abbreviation

Definition of TAT

thematic apperception test

Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, neurosis, pathological, psychosis, schadenfreude, subliminal

Medical Dictionary

tat

play

noun, often capitalized \ ˈtat \

medical Definition of tat

1 :a small protein produced by a lentivirus (as HIV) within infected cells that greatly increases the rate of viral transcription and replication and that is also secreted extracellularly where it plays a role in increasing viral replication in newly infected cells and in enhancing the susceptibility of T cells to infection — called also tat protein

2 :the viral gene that codes for the tat protein