# tat

/ˈtæt/ (US) · /tˈæt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/tat
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. cheap/useless items

noun · CEFR B2 · British English · Informal

cheap, poor-quality, or useless things that have little value.

For teachers: cheap, tasteless, or poor-quality items, often used collectively to describe clutter or low-value trinkets.

- The souvenir shop was full of plastic tat that nobody really wanted to buy.
- The attic was cluttered with decades of accumulated tat, ranging from broken electronics to faded plastic ornaments from old holidays.

Usage: Usually uncountable when referring to a collection of items.

### 3. to tattoo

verb · CEFR C1 · Slang

to give someone a tattoo.

For teachers: to perform the act of tattooing; often used in the phrase 'get tatted'.

- She decided to get tatted while she was travelling in Berlin.
- After years of planning his sleeve, he finally found a specialist artist to tat the complex historical scene onto his back.

## Examples

- The shop was full of cheap plastic tat.
- After years of collecting souvenirs, his shelves were cluttered with useless tat that he eventually threw away.
- The market stalls were overflowing with overpriced tat, yet tourists continued to flock to them in search of authentic mementos of their trip.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.