SKIP TO CONTENT

painting

/ˈpeɪntɪŋ/

/ˈpeɪntɪŋ/

Other forms: paintings

If you want to study painting, go to art school. If that doesn’t work out, maybe you can get a job painting houses. Then you can paint a house purple or paint a picture, which is called a painting.

Slapping a coat of paint on your apartment walls is painting, but so is creating a masterpiece like Van Gogh's "Starry Night" or maybe even C.M. Coolidge’s “Dogs Playing Poker.” The picture that results from your painting experiments is also called a painting. The Latin root of painting, pingere, means "to paint," but also "to stain, embroider, or tattoo."

Definitions of painting
  1. noun
    creating a picture with paints
    “he studied painting and sculpture for many years”
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 5 types...
    hide 5 types...
    distemper
    a method of painting in which the pigments are mixed with water and a binder; used for painting posters or murals or stage scenery
    fresco
    a durable method of painting on a wall by using watercolors on wet plaster
    impasto
    painting that applies the pigment thickly so that brush or palette knife marks are visible
    oil painting
    the art or method of painting with oil paints
    water-color, water-colour, watercolor, watercolour
    the art or technique of painting with watercolors
    type of:
    art, artistic creation, artistic production
    the creation of beautiful or significant things
    beaux arts, fine arts
    the study and creation of visual works of art
  2. noun
    the act of applying paint to a surface
    “you can finish the job of painting faster with a roller than with a brush”
    see moresee less
    types:
    spray painting
    applying paint with a sprayer
    spatter, spattering, splash, splashing, splattering
    the act of splashing a (liquid) substance on a surface
    finger-painting
    painting by using the fingers to spread the paint
    type of:
    application, coating, covering
    the work of applying something
  3. noun
    graphic art consisting of an artistic composition made by applying paints to a surface
    “a small painting by Picasso”
    “he bought the painting as an investment”
    synonyms: picture
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 24 types...
    hide 24 types...
    abstraction
    an abstract painting
    cityscape
    painting depicting a city or urban area
    daub
    an unskillful painting
    distemper
    a painting created with paint that is made by mixing the pigments with water and a binder
    finger-painting
    a painting produced by spreading paint with the fingers
    icon, ikon
    a conventional religious painting in oil on a small wooden panel; venerated in the Eastern Church
    landscape
    painting depicting an expanse of natural scenery
    illumination, miniature
    painting or drawing included in a book (especially in illuminated medieval manuscripts)
    monochrome
    painting done in a range of tones of a single color
    mural, wall painting
    a painting that is applied to a wall surface
    nude, nude painting
    a painting of a naked human figure
    oil painting
    a picture painted with oil paints
    pentimento
    the reappearance in a painting of an underlying image that had been painted over (usually when the later painting becomes transparent with age)
    sand painting
    a painting done by Amerindians (especially Navaho); made of fine colored sands on a neutral background
    seascape, waterscape
    a painting of the sea (as distinguished from a landscape)
    semi-abstraction
    a semiabstract painting
    still life
    a painting of inanimate objects such as fruit or flowers
    tanka
    a Tibetan religious painting on fabric
    trompe l'oeil
    a painting rendered in such great detail as to deceive the viewer concerning its reality
    water-color, water-colour, watercolor, watercolour
    a painting produced with watercolors
    canvas, canvass
    an oil painting on canvas fabric
    fresco
    a mural done with watercolors on wet plaster
    gouache
    a watercolor executed with opaque watercolors mixed with gum
    wash, wash drawing
    a watercolor made by applying a series of monochrome washes one over the other
    type of:
    graphic art
    the arts of drawing or painting or printmaking
  4. noun
    the occupation of a house painter
    synonyms: house painting
    see moresee less
    type of:
    craft, trade
    the skilled practice of a practical occupation
Pronunciation
US

/ˈpeɪntɪŋ/

UK

/ˈpeɪntɪŋ/

Cite this entry
Style:
MLA
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago

A paragraph of text

Copy citation
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘painting'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
Word Family
EDITOR'S CHOICE

Look up painting for the last time

Close your vocabulary gaps with personalized learning that focuses on teaching the words you need to know.

VocabTrainer - Vocabulary.com's Vocabulary Trainer