English▸ noun
1 a label attached to someone or something for the purpose of identification or to give other information:
he gave his pet a collar with a metal name tag
he took off his identity tag and inserted it into a machine.
▪ an electronic device that can be attached to someone or something for monitoring purposes, e.g. to track offenders under house arrest or to deter shoplifters.
▪ a nickname or description popularly given to someone or something:
he lived up to his tag as the team's saviour.
▪ informal a nickname or other identifying mark written as the signature of a graffiti artist:
scrawled felt-tip tags on city walls.
▪ Computing an instruction appended to a piece of text in a markup language in order to specify how it is displayed or interpreted.
▪ a word, phrase, or name used to identify digital content such as blog and social media posts as belonging to a particular category or concerning a particular person or topic:
you can easily add tags to photos en masse.
▪ US English the licence plate of a motor vehicle:
the car had Texas tags.
2 a small piece or part that is attached to a main body.
▪ a ragged lock of wool on a sheep.
▪ the tip of an animal's tail when it is distinctively coloured.
▪ a loose or spare end of something; a leftover:
I have a few tags of second-hand equipment.
▪ a metal or plastic point at the end of a shoelace that stiffens it, making it easier to insert through an eyelet.
3 a frequently repeated quotation or stock phrase:
his writing is full of tags from the Bible and Shakespeare.
▪ (in drama) a closing speech addressed to the audience.
▪ a refrain or musical phrase in a song or piece of music.
▪ Grammar a short phrase or clause added to an already complete sentence, as in I like it, I do.
▸ verb
( tags, tagging, tagged)
[with object] 1 attach a label to:
mothers suspected that their babies had been wrongly tagged during an alarm at the hospital.
▪ attach a monitoring tag to:
we have to tag the sheep before sale or when moving them from one farm to another.
▪ [with object and adverbial or complement] give a specified name or description to:
he left because he didn't want to be tagged as a soap star.
▪ informal (of a graffiti artist) write one's nickname or mark on (a surface):
metal hoardings tagged with hip-hop graffiti.
▪ Computing add an instruction to (a piece of text in a markup language) in order to specify how it is displayed or interpreted.
▪ add a word, phrase, or name to (digital content) to identify it as belonging to a particular category or concerning a particular person or topic:
I will be tagged in every photo I post.
▪ Biology Chemistry label (something) with a radioactive isotope, fluorescent dye, or other marker:
pieces of DNA tagged with radioactive particles.
2 [with object and adverbial] add to something, especially as an afterthought or with no real connection:
she meant to tag her question on at the end of her remarks.
▪ [no object, with adverbial] follow or accompany someone, especially without invitation:
that'll teach you not to tag along where you're not wanted.
▪ [with object] British English informal follow closely:
we were tagged—that car was following us.
– ORIGIN late Middle English (denoting a narrow hanging section of a decoratively slashed garment): of unknown origin; compare with dag. The verb dates from the early 17th century.