Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - tan

~1 v tanned, tanning 1 if you tan, your skin becomes darker because you spend time in the sun  (People with fair skin usually don't tan very easily.) 2 if the sun tans you, it makes your skin become darker 3 to make animal skin into leather by treating it with tannin (=a kind of acid) 4 tan sb's hide old-fashioned to hit someone a lot, as a punishment - tan adj AmE  (Did you see Lizzie? She's so tan!) ~2 n 1 a light yellowish brown colour  (tan shoes) 2 the brown colour that someone with pale skin gets after they have been in the sun; suntan  (I wish I could get a tan like that.) 3 an abbreviation of tangent (2)