ink

plural inks · alternative obsolete inke

1. uncountableusuallyA pigment (or dye)-based fluid used for writing, printing etc.

   This form should be filled out in ink.

   2 more examples

   While I was waiting for him in the Matted Gallery, a young man was most finely working in Indian inke the great picture of the King and Queen sitting [Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France], by Van Dyke [Anthony van Dyck]; and did it very finely.

   1667 May 5 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Samuel Pepys, Mynors Bright, transcriber, “April 26th, 1667”, in Henry B[enjamin] Wheatley, editor, The Diary of Samuel Pepys […], volume VI, London: George Bell & Sons […]; Cambridge: Deighton Bell & Co., published 1895, →OCLC, page 285

   Both halves feature lyrics that are so teen-girly they sound like they were written in pink ink in a padlocked diary with hearts and frowny faces for punctuation.

   2016 March 24, Darryl Sterdan, “ZAYN’s ‘Mind of Mine’ and Gwen Stefani’s ‘This is What the Truth Feels Like’ top this week’s new music”, in The Toronto Star, archived from the original on 17 Jun 2018

2. countableusuallyA particular type, color or container of this fluid.
3. uncountableusuallyThe black or dark-colored fluid ejected by squid, octopus etc, as a protective strategy.

   Experimentally, some ink has been shown to be unpalatable to fish (Wood et al. 2010) and observationally, ink can also function as an attractant to predators to give cephalopods a bit more time to escape.

   2017 August 9, Mark Carnall, “Why do cephalopods produce ink? And what's ink made of, anyway?”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 15 Mar 2023

4. slanguncountableusuallyPublicity.

   to get ink

   2 more examples

   The TSA has been getting a lot of ink lately.

   [Judith] Hope […] has been getting ink by the barrelful with her regular interviews quoting conversations with the first lady, on subjects ranging from Senate ambitions to summer and post-White House living arrangements.

   1999 June 4, Washington Post

   Synonyms: ballyhoo, flak, hoopla, hype, plug, spotlight

5. slanguncountableusuallyTattoo work.

   Now he's getting a tattoo / Yeah, he's getting ink done / He asked for a 13, / But they drew a 31

   1998, “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)”, performed by The Offspring

   1 more example

   "I saw it hanging on the wall of a tattoo hut where I went to get some ink done ten years ago," he stuttered, flushing in splotches and squirming in his chair.

   1998, Richard Dooling, Brain Storm

   Synonyms: paint

6. slanguncountableusuallyCheap red wine.

present singular third person inks · participle present inking · participle past inked · past inked

1. transitiveTo apply ink to; to cover or smear with ink.

   A plain impression is obtained by pressing the bulb of the finger, with the plane of the nail parallel to the plane of the plate, on the inked plate and then on the paper in the same manner.

   1919, R. H. Leigh, How to Obtain Good Finger Prints, third edition, U.S. Navy Department Bureau of Navigation, page 1

2. transitiveTo sign (a contract or similar document).

   Before Musk, America’s space industry was moribund. In 2011, NASA mothballed the last space shuttle, after inking a deal with SpaceX to make uncrewed cargo resupply runs to the International Space Station (ISS).

   2021 December 13, Molly Ball, Jeffrey Kluger, Alejandro de la Garza, “Elon Musk: Person of the Year 2021”, in Time Magazine, archived from the original on 13 Dec 2021

   Synonyms: endorse, initial, inscribe, subscribe

3. transitiveTo apply a tattoo to (someone).
4. intransitiveto eject ink (sense 3)