/ tæg; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
[ C ] (often in compounds) a small piece of paper, cloth, plastic, etc. attached to sth to identify it or give information about it :
He put name tags on all his shirts.
a gift tag (= tied to a present)
The police use electronic tags to monitor the whereabouts of young offenders on probation.
—see also price tag ➡ note at label
2.
[ C , usually sing. ] 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.
3.
[ C ] ( 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
4.
[ C ] ( 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
5.
[ C ] a short quotation or saying in a foreign language :
the Latin tag 'Si vis pacem, para bellum.' (= if you want peace, prepare for war)
6.
( BrE also tig ) [ U ] a children's game in which one child chases the others and tries to touch one of them
7.
[ C ] a symbol or name used by a graffiti writer and painted in a public place
■ verb ( -gg- )
1.
[ vn ] to fasten a tag onto sth/sb :
Each animal was tagged with a number for identification.
—see also electronic tagging
2.
[ vn ] tag sb/sth as sth to give sb/sth a name that describes what they are or do
SYN label :
The country no longer wanted to be tagged as a Third World nation.
3.
[ vn ] ( computing ) to add a set of letters or symbols to a piece of text or data in order to identify it or show that it is to be treated in a particular way
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- tag along (behind / with sb)
- tag sth on | tag sth onto sth
••
WORD ORIGIN
verb and noun 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 .