Introducing permanent colors under the surface of the skin to make decorative designs on the skin: People who were tattooed even as far back as a thousand years ago, had it done originally as a means of identification.

When the skins of people are tattooed, even by professionals, it is potentially dangerous; especially, if the person who tattoos does not follow strict sterile procedures because hepatitis and AIDS can be transmitted through the needles that introduce the dyes.

A reference to skin that has been marked in colors with designs or patterns with a special needle: A sailor had a tattooed ship on his arm.

Large tattooed areas on the skin are sometimes removed by dermabrasion (high-speed sanding to reduce the pitted scars) or laser (concentrated beam of light radiation) treatments in order to decrease the size of the scars.