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tan
1[tan]
verb (used with object)
to convert (a hide) into leather, especially by soaking or steeping in a bath prepared from tanbark or synthetically.
to make brown by exposure to ultraviolet rays, as of the sun.
verb (used without object)
to become tanned.
noun
the brown color imparted to the skin by exposure to the sun or open air.
yellowish brown; light brown.
adjective
of the color of tan; yellowish-brown.
used in or relating to tanning processes, materials, etc.
tan
2[tan]
noun
Tan
3[tan]
noun
Amy, born 1952, U.S. novelist.
TAN
4[tan]
noun
tax-anticipation note.
tan
1/ æ /
noun
the brown colour produced by the skin after intensive exposure to ultraviolet rays, esp those of the sun
a light or moderate yellowish-brown colour
short for tanbark
verb
to go brown or cause to go brown after exposure to ultraviolet rays
she tans easily
to convert (a skin or hide) into leather by treating it with a tanning agent, such as vegetable tannins, chromium salts, fish oils, or formaldehyde
slang(tr) to beat or flog
adjective
of the colour tan
tan gloves
used in or relating to tanning
tan
2/ æ /
abbreviation
tangent (sense 2)
tan
Abbreviation of tangent
Other Word Forms
- tannable adjective
- untanned adjective
- well-tanned adjective
- ˈٲԲԲ adjective
- ˈٲԲԾ adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of tan1
Origin of tan2
Word History and Origins
Origin of tan1
Idioms and Phrases
tan someone's hide, to beat someone soundly.
She threatened to tan our hides if she found us on her property again.
Example Sentences
The home’s tan color burned to black, and smoke billowed hundreds of feet into the sky.
Rogers—tanned, athletic and manicured at 68—shook his head affectionately.
Trading Standards has issued a warning about nasal tanning sprays and the potential health problems they could cause people who have used them.
For his trial, however, the hip-hop mogul has been given special permission to wear "non-prison clothing", with casual business attire replacing his tan prison jumpsuit.
His accent doesn’t have a trace of it, but at least his skin is tanned the same shade of orange as his hair.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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