Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Somewhat worn, shabby, or dilapidated.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Same as tauted.
  • noun An East Indian matting made from the fiber of the cuscus-grass, which has a pleasant fragrance.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun India A mat or screen of fibers, as of the kuskus grass, hung at a door or window and kept wet to moisten and cool the air as it enters.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Northern England, Geordie, slang potato
  • adjective Dilapidated, distressed, worn-out, torn

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective showing signs of wear and tear
  • adjective tastelessly showy

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Probably from tat, a rag, shabby person.]

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Examples

  • And ever since OK! magazine announced that it was to run a warts-and-all account of Britney Spears' photo shoot meltdown, the world has been on the edge of its seat in anticipation of today's OK! magazine, because it had to – it just had to – have a picture of Britney Spears stumbling around out of her mind like some kind of tatty old shit-and-grease-covered redneck zombie.

    Britney Spears Being Sectioned 2007

  • Of course - everybody knows it, but in these days of 'tatty' talent shows, he rarely gets a mention.

    Expecting Rain 2009

  • Strictly Come Dancing: Viewers outraged by tiny and 'tatty' dresses that are cheapening the show

    Home | Mail Online 2009

  • Strictly Come Dancing: Viewers outraged by tiny and 'tatty' dresses that are cheapening the show

    WN.com - Articles related to Billy Lee Riley: Charismatic rock 'n' roller who was eclipsed by Elvis Presley and Jerry ... 2009

  • Strictly Come Dancing: Viewers outraged by tiny and 'tatty' dresses that are cheapening the show

    Home | Mail Online 2009

  • The effect is that of a slightly withered, tatty, Miss Havisham-esque hold-all.

    When It Comes to Style, It's In the Bag Tina Gaudoin 2011

  • Meanwhile a tatty but unmolested car is often worth far more than an identical model that has been insensitively or inaccurately restored.

    Buying Into Old-Fashioned Value Matthew Master 2011

  • I can't quite describe the sensation of opening an envelope to find the tatty, coffee-stained old passport pictures of Education Minister Jane the Hutt.

    Archive 2009-04-01 2009

  • What joy that tatty rag brings to an otherwise dull world and a peep into the minds of the distinctly vague and those living in a parallel universe.

    Police Need Intelligence Shock « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2009

  • It shrugged its attackers off, determined to reach some tatty bramble flowers with an appetite as fierce as the buzzard's.

    Country diary: Wenlock Edge 2011

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