tan
/tæn/ (bre, ipa) · /tæn/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈtan/ (ame, mw)
tan — noun
- tansingular
- tansplural
1. the darker colour your skin turns after you have spent time in the sun
the darker colour your skin turns after you have spent time in the sun
After two weeks at the beach, Keiko came home with a deep tan.
collocation: deep tan / light tan / golden tan
Mei applied sunscreen every hour but still got a noticeable tan.
By the time winter arrived, Tomás's tan had almost completely faded.
Some people use spray products to get a tan without lying in the sun.
- pallor
medical/literary term for pale skin, the opposite of a tan
文法句型
have/get + a + tan
a + adjective + tan
2. a light brown colour with a slight yellow tone, like the colour of sand or light
a light brown colour with a slight yellow tone, like the colour of sand or light leather
Minh painted her living room walls a soft tan that went well with the wooden floor.
noun: a shade of tan as a wall colour
The jacket comes in three colours: olive, tan, and navy.
Ravi's favourite pair of walking boots are made of tan leather.
The desert landscape was a mix of pale tan and dusty orange under the midday sun.
- white
at the opposite end of the lightness scale
文法句型
a shade/pale/dark + tan
用法筆記
Used as a colour name in fashion, interior design, and product descriptions. Often modified by adjectives like 'pale', 'warm', or 'rich'.
tan — adjective
- tanpositive
- tannercomparative
- tannestsuperlative
1. having a light brown colour with a yellow tone
having a light brown colour with a yellow tone
Dr. Okafor wore a tan suit to the graduation ceremony.
tan + clothing item
The old photograph had turned a uniform tan colour over the decades.
A tan carpet hides dirt better than a white one does.
The Watanabe family bought a tan sofa for their new living room.
- beige
lighter and less yellow; tan is warmer
- camel-coloured
similar but refers specifically to the colour of camel hair
- fawn
paler and more greyish-brown
- white
the direct opposite of tan as a colour
文法句型
tan + noun
tan — verb
- tanpresent simple I / you / we / they
- tanshe / she / it
- tannedpast simple
- tanning-ing form
1. if your skin tans, or if sunlight tans it, your skin gets darker after time spen
if your skin tans, or if sunlight tans it, your skin gets darker after time spent outdoors in sunny weather
My skin tans easily, but my sister always burns instead.
contrast: tan vs burn in sun
The summer sun had tanned Sora's arms and face during the hiking trip.
transitive: sun tans a body part
Fatima tanned quickly during the vacation in Thailand.
Sunbathers lay on the white sand, hoping to tan before the wedding.
The lifeguard's shoulders were tanned a deep brown from working outdoors all summer.
- burn
the opposite result from too much sun — red instead of brown
文法句型
someone + tans
the sun + tans + someone
someone + tans + body part
用法筆記
The intransitive form (someone tans) is the most common. The transitive form (the sun tans someone) is less frequent but natural in descriptions of outdoor life.
常見錯誤
2. to treat the skin of a dead animal with chemicals or natural substances to turn
to treat the skin of a dead animal with chemicals or natural substances to turn it into leather that can be used for making clothes, bags, or shoes
The workshop showed visitors how workers tan cowhide into leather for belts and bags.
tan + hide + into + leather
Traditional methods tan animal hides using tree bark rich in tannin.
The factory out in the countryside tans thousands of sheepskins every single month.
Before synthetic materials existed, every community had to tan leather by hand.
- cure
broader — can mean preserving skin or meat by salting or drying, not specifically with tannin
文法句型
tan + animal skin/hide
用法筆記
Used in craft and industrial contexts. The noun 'tannery' refers to a place where animal skins are tanned. The word 'tannin' (the chemical that tans) shares the same root.
常見錯誤
3. to hit or beat someone hard as a punishment — now mostly used in humorous or old
to hit or beat someone hard as a punishment — now mostly used in humorous or old-fashioned expressions
Grandpa used to joke that he would tan our hides if we ever touched his tools.
fixed phrase: tan someone's hide
The old headmaster threatened to tan the boys for sneaking out after dark.
In that old novel, the farmer vows to tan his son's hide for letting the sheep wander off.
- praise
the opposite of punishing
文法句型
tan + someone + 's + hide
tan + someone
用法筆記
This sense is informal and noticeably old-fashioned. Today it survives mainly in the fixed expression 'tan someone's hide' and is used more for humorous effect than as a real threat.
常見錯誤
tan — abbreviation
1. a shortened form of the word tangent, used in trigonometry and geometry to descr
a shortened form of the word tangent, used in trigonometry and geometry to describe the ratio of sides in a right-angled triangle
To find the missing side length, use tan 30° = opposite ÷ adjacent.
formula: tan + angle = opposite / adjacent
The maths teacher wrote 'tan θ' on the board and explained how to calculate it.
On most scientific calculators, the tan button is located next to sin and cos.
Aylin used tan 35° to calculate the height of the building from its shadow.
Hana worked out the slope of the ramp by computing tan of the angle.
文法句型
tan + angle
用法筆記
Always written in lowercase roman type (not italic). Commonly appears in mathematics textbooks and on scientific calculators alongside 'sin' and 'cos'.