tan

Noun (1)

tan (plural tans)

1. A light, brown-like colour.
2. A darkening of the skin resulting from exposure to sunlight or similar light sources.
   • She still has a tan from her vacation in Mexico.
   • I'm hoping to get a tan this weekend at the beach.
3. The bark of an oak or other tree from which tannic acid is obtained.
   • In two pints of water boil one ounce of tan, and a like portion of nutgall till reduced to a pint.1848, John Hannett, Bibliopegia, or, The Art of Bookbinding in all its branches, page 65
4. (Alberta) Synonym of wall ball.

   Synonyms:

   wall ball

Adjective

tan (comparative tanner, superlative tannest)

1. Yellowish-brown.
   • a tan suit
   • Mine is the white car parked next to the tan pickup truck.
2. Having dark skin as a result of exposure to the sun or an artificial process intended to mimic this effect.
   • You’re looking very tan this week.

   Synonyms:

   suntanned, tanned

Verb (1)

tan (third-person singular simple present tans, present participle tanning, simple past and past participle tanned)

1. (intransitive, transitive) To change to a tan colour due to exposure to the sun.
   • No matter how long I stay out in the sun, I never tan, though I do burn.
2. (transitive) To change an animal hide into leather by soaking it in tannic acid.
3. (stative, transitive) To work as a tanner.
4. (informal, transitive) To spank or beat.
   • "Well, go 'long and play; but mind you get back some time in a week, or I'll tan you."1876, Mark Twain, chapter 3, in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Numeral

tan

1. (dialectal, rare) The second cardinal number two, formerly used in Celtic areas, especially Cumbria and parts of Yorkshire, for counting sheep, and stitches in knitting.

Noun (2)

tan

1. An Armenian drink made of yoghurt and water similar to airan and doogh

Noun (3)

tan (usually uncountable, plural tans)

1. (usually) Synonym of picul, particularly in Cantonese contexts.

   Synonyms:

   picul, particularly in Cantonese contexts

Noun (4)

tan (plural tans)

1. (dialectal) A twig or small switch.

Verb (2)

tan (third-person singular simple present tans, present participle tanning, simple past and past participle tanned)

1. (Multicultural-London-English, slang, transitive) To kill by gun, to shoot.
   • Step on the wing, see an opp and I'll whack it
     Do it like Super Savage
     Who's the yute I Jet-Li-rise that dots and tan him (whoosh)
     Rise that dots and tan him2019 September 29, Moscow17, “All For The Cause”

Proper noun (1) capitalized: Tan

Tan

1. A Chinese surname from Mandarin.

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Tan

Malaysia[t˭än]

Tan

1. A Chinese surname from Hokkien.

Proper noun (3) capitalized: Tan

Tan

1. (alternative) Alternative form of Dan.
   • The Tae ping camps commanded the Tan river which, flowing eastward, becomes further on the Wei, under which name it joins the Grand Canal at Lin tsing, on the northern side of the highest level of the Canal waters.1856, Thomas Taylor Meadows, “Military History of the Tae pings, After the Occupation of Nanking, Up to the Present Time”, in The Chinese and their Rebellions, London: Smith, Elder & Co., →OCLC, page...
   • As regards other possible railways in Shensi and Kansu not yet definitely projected, the most attractive is a line from the neighbourhood of Chingtzu Kuan in south-western Honan up the Tan River valley and across the Ch'inling Shan to Hsian.1921, Eric Teichman, Travels of a Consular Officer in North-West China, Cambridge University Press, →OCLC, →OL, page 214

Proper noun (4) capitalized: Tan

Tan

1. A surname from Vietnamese.

Noun (5) capitalized: TAN

TAN

1. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of total acid number, the measure of a lubricant's or crude oil's acidity. See Total acid number on Wikipedia.
2. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of transaction authentication number, in electronic banking. See Transaction authentication number on Wikipedia.