often attributive
1
: a colored usually liquid material for writing and printing
2
: the black protective secretion of a cephalopod
3
slang
: publicity sense 2d
4
informal
: one or more tattoos on a person's body
Whether or not it's your cup of meat, the proliferation of body-art mags suggests that a slew of folks have ink, and they didn't get it from reading the newspaper.—
Albert Mobilio
Albert Mobilio
inked; inking; inks
1
a
: to put ink on
ink a pen
ink a printing block
b
: to draw or write in ink
ink a design
—often used with incarefully inked in the letters
c
: to obliterate with ink
—usually used with out
inked out many lines
2
US, informal
a
: to affix one's signature to : sign sense 2a
an athlete who has inked a new contract
b
: to engage or hire by securing the signature of (someone) on a contract : sign sense 4
… has been inked to do the part of a judge in an HBO special …—Marge Crumbaker
Marge Crumbaker3
informal
: tattoo
… got himself an elaborate tattoo, his first, inked along his right shoulder …—S. L. Price
S. L. PriceKaufman plans on inking a tat to memorialize his accident.—Micah Abrams
Micah AbramsHis heavily muscled arms are inked shoulder to wrist.—Eve Conant
Eve ConantSynonyms
Examples of ink in a Sentence
Noun
Fill out the form using blue or black ink.
The printer is out of ink.
We're using four different inks for this poster.
Verb
They just inked a new partnership agreement.
the basketball star just inked a two-year contract with the most celebrated franchise in the NBA
Recent Examples on the WebThomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2024
More of Lovato’s ink, including those on her collarbones, arms and hands, were on display at the 2024 Met Gala as the singer attended the event for the first time eight years wearing a silver strapless Prabal Gurung gown.
—Michelle Lee, Peoplemag, 29 May 2024
Jimena Tavel, Miami Herald, 29 May 2024
The massive purchase comes about five months after Ohtani inked a blockbuster 10-year contract with the Dodgers worth $700 million.
—Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for ink 
Noun
Neuroscientists have charted the mind’s incantation of words that lights up the temporal lobe, the frontal lobe, ridges in the cerebral cortex, triggering impulses that transform squiggles of ink into letters, letters to words, words to sentences and meaning and comprehension and empathy.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2024
More of Lovato’s ink, including those on her collarbones, arms and hands, were on display at the 2024 Met Gala as the singer attended the event for the first time eight years wearing a silver strapless Prabal Gurung gown.
—Michelle Lee, Peoplemag, 29 May 2024
Verb
After inking a contract last week that grants him a $340,000 annual salary, Howard Hepburn officially became the new superintendent of Broward County Public Schools on Wednesday.
—Jimena Tavel, Miami Herald, 29 May 2024
The massive purchase comes about five months after Ohtani inked a blockbuster 10-year contract with the Dodgers worth $700 million.
—Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for ink
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ink.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near ink
Cite this Entry
“Ink.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ink. Accessed 6 Jun. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ink
1 of 2 noun1
: a usually liquid material for writing or printing
2
: the black protective secretion of a cephalopod
ink
2 of 2 verb1
: to put ink on
2
: to write or draw in ink
inker
noun
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