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Definition of tag noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

tag

noun
 
 
/tæɡ/
 
/tæɡ/
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  1.  
    [countable] (often in compounds) a small piece of paper, cloth, plastic, etc. attached to something to identify it or give information about it
    • He put name tags on all his shirts.
    • a gift tag (= tied to a present)
    Synonyms labellabeltag ▪ stickerThese are all words for a piece of paper, cloth or plastic that is attached to something and gives information about it.label a small piece of paper, cloth or plastic that is attached to something in order to show what it is or give information about it:
    • The washing instructions are on the label.
    • address labels
    tag (often used in compounds) a small piece of paper, cloth or plastic that is attached to something, or that somebody wears, in order to give information about it/​them:
    • Everyone at the conference had to wear a name tag.
     label or tag?Labels in clothes are usually made of cloth and sewn in. Tags on clothes are usually made of card and cut off before you wear the clothes. A name tag can be stuck or tied onto somebody to show who they are: All babies in the hospital have name tags tied round their ankles. Price tag is much more frequent than price label and is used for both literal and figurative meanings: What does the price tag say? • There is a £20 million price tag on the team’s star player. A label can also be a sticker that you put on an envelope. sticker a sticky label with a picture or message on it, that you stick on to something.Patterns
    • a price label/​tag/​sticker
    • to have a label/​tag/​sticker
    • to attach/​put on/​stick on a label/​tag/​sticker
    • The label/​tag/​sticker says…
    see also dog tag, name tag, price tag
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • identification
    • identity
    • name
    • …
    verb + tag
    • attach
    • put
    • remove
    • …
    phrases
    • something carries a price tag of…
    • something has a price tag of…
    See full entry
  2. [countable] an electronic device that can be attached to a person, animal or object so that police, researchers, etc. know where the person, etc. is
    • The police use electronic tags to monitor the whereabouts of young offenders on probation.
  3. [countable, usually singular] a name or phrase that is used to describe a person or thing in some way
    • They are finally ready to drop the tag ‘the new Beatles’.
    • The ‘lucky’ tag stuck for years.
    • The president made several jokes in an attempt to shake off his ‘humourless’ tag.
  4. [countable] (linguistics) a word or phrase that is added to a sentence for emphasis, for example I do in Yes, I do see also question tag
  5. [countable] (computing) a set of letters or symbols that are put before and after a piece of text or data in order to identify it or show that it is to be treated in a particular way
  6. [countable] a short quotation or saying in a foreign language
    • the Latin tag ‘Si vis pacem, para bellum.’ (= if you want peace, prepare for war)
  7. (British English also tig)
     [uncountable] a children’s game in which one child runs after the others and tries to touch one of them see also phone tagTopics Games and toysc2
  8. [countable] a symbol or name used by a graffiti writer and painted in a public place
    9. Word Originnoun senses 1 to 5 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 cent. noun sense 6 mid 18th cent.: perhaps a variant of tig.
See tag in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee tag in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: tag

Nearby words

dizzy
adjective
 
 
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