ink

noun

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

   “This form should be filled out in ink.”

   “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.”

   “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.”

2. (countable, usually)A particular type, color or container of this fluid.
3. (uncountable, usually)The 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.”

4. (slang, uncountable, usually)Publicity.

   “to get ink”

   “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.”

5. (slang, uncountable, usually)Tattoo work.

   “"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.”

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

6. (slang, uncountable, usually)Cheap red wine.

verb

1. (transitive)To 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.”

2. (transitive)To 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).”

3. (transitive)To apply a tattoo to (someone).
4. (intransitive)to eject ink (sense 3)