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 ConantExamples 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 Web
Eva Amsen, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025
Rivers of ink have been spilled in the last few days highlighting various perspectives on immigration raids, protests and riots in Los Angeles and other cities.
—Agustina Vergara Cid, Oc Register, 13 June 2025
Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 6 June 2025
Then in free agency, the front office inked former Super Bowl Champion Russell Wilson to a one-year deal.
—Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for ink
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
Egyptian blue has caught the eye of people who are interested in using it for new technological applications, because the pigment produces near-infrared light that could be used for fingerprinting in forensic science or for security solutions such as counterfeit-proof inks.
—Eva Amsen, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025
Rivers of ink have been spilled in the last few days highlighting various perspectives on immigration raids, protests and riots in Los Angeles and other cities.
—Agustina Vergara Cid, Oc Register, 13 June 2025
Verb
The two companies first inked a partnership for a Dallas-Fort Worth pilot in 2023.
—Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 6 June 2025
Then in free agency, the front office inked former Super Bowl Champion Russell Wilson to a one-year deal.
—Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for ink
Cite this Entry
“Ink.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ink. Accessed 20 Jun. 2025.
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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