untag

IPA/ʌnˈtæɡ/
IPA/ʌnˈtæɡ/

untag — verb

  • untagpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • untags3rd person singular
  • untagging-ing form
  • untaggedpast simple

1. to take someone's name and profile link off a photo, comment, or post on social

1.verbtransitiveB1
Definition

to take someone's name and profile link off a photo, comment, or post on social media, so that the content is no longer connected to that person's account.

Example

Talia asked her cousin to untag her from the vacation photos on Instagram.

untag [someone] from [photo/post]

After the party, Hyun untagged himself from posts he did not want to appear in.

Common collocations
  • untag from a photo
  • untag from a post
  • untag yourself
  • untag someone from a video
Synonyms
  • remove the tag

    more general and not a single verb; 'untag' is the compact form

  • delink

    less common; sometimes used in technical contexts

Antonyms
  • tag

    the opposite action — to link someone's profile to a post

Grammar Patterns

untag + [someone] + from + [photo/post/video]

untag + [oneself] + from + [post]

Usage Note

The person being untagged does not need to own or control the photo — any user who can see the post can usually untag themselves, and the original poster can untag others.

Common Mistakes

I deleted the tag from him on Facebook.
I untagged him from the Facebook post.
'untag' is the standard verb for removing a social media tag, not 'delete the tag'.

2. to delete or strip the markers in a digital document that tell the computer how

2.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to delete or strip the markers in a digital document that tell the computer how to show or structure the content, such as HTML, XML, or formatting codes.

Example

Before posting the article, Aylin untagged all the formatting codes from the text file.

untag + formatting codes / HTML tags from [file]

The developer used a script to untag every HTML element in the document at once.

Common collocations
  • untag HTML elements
  • untag from a document
  • untag formatting codes
  • untag markers
Synonyms
  • strip tags

    more common in programming documentation; means the same action

  • remove markup

    broader phrase that includes untagging as one method

Antonyms
  • tag

    the opposite — to add markers or labels to content

Grammar Patterns

untag + [code/marker/element] + from + [document/file]

be untagged + from + [text/file]

Usage Note

Common in web development and text processing contexts. The passive form — 'All tags were untagged from the document' — is frequently used in technical instructions.

Common Mistakes

I removed the tags from the HTML by untagging them.' (redundant)
I untagged the HTML elements.
'untag' already means removing tags, so do not add 'remove the tags' in the same sentence.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

In social media contexts, 'untag' is the standard one-word verb for taking a person's name off a photo or post. 'Remove the tag' is more general and can refer to any kind of label, while 'delink' is technical and mostly used when a profile connection is being broken rather than a social media label. 'Unmark' is broader in meaning — it can apply to flags, checkboxes, or highlights — so it is less precise for social media. When speaking about Facebook or Instagram, 'untag' is the natural choice: 'I untagged myself from the group photo.' 'Remove the tag' can substitute in formal writing but sounds more wordy in everyday conversation.

untag ↗remove the tagdelinkunmark

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

Prepositions

Etymology

EnglishOld Norse (tag) > English (tag + un-)

Formed by adding the prefix 'un-' (meaning to reverse an action) to the verb 'tag' (to label or mark). The computing sense of 'tag' as a markup code dates to the 1970s with the rise of digital typesetting languages. The social media sense of 'tag' emerged around 2005 when platforms like Facebook introduced the ability to link a person's profile to a photo, and 'untag' followed shortly after as the natural way to describe removing that link.