lithograph
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
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lithographs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lithographed,
past participle, past
-
lithographing
present participle
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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lithographsimple
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lithographssimple
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have lithographedperfect
-
has lithographedperfect
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am lithographingprogressive
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are lithographingprogressive
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is lithographingprogressive
-
have been lithographingperfect progressive
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has been lithographingperfect progressive
Past
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lithographedsimple
-
had lithographedperfect
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was lithographingprogressive
-
were lithographingprogressive
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had been lithographingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lithograph
First recorded in 1815–25; back formation from lithography
Compare meaning
How does lithograph compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A lithograph is a print that's made using a stone or metal plate. Lithographs are etched into the plate using a chemical reaction. To make a lithograph, an artist draws a design or on the stone plate with a waxy crayon or oil-based ink. After treating the plate with several layers of material, including rosin, talc, and an acidic solution, the lithographer applies ink with a roller. The oily ink only sticks to the waxy image, not the area around it; the resulting lithograph is a crisp reverse image on paper. The Greek roots of lithograph mean "stone" and "to draw."
Vocabulary lists containing lithograph
Visual Arts - High School
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Art History
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Visual Arts - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The Dancer features similar cut out shapes, although it is a lithograph print.
From BBC ● Nov. 28, 2025
“Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secrets,” a thematic survey of 55 paintings and one lithograph at the Barnes Foundation, is that rare, magical exhibition that casts a storybook spell.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 15, 2025
A lithograph of Hockney’s famous 1974 drawing “Pacific Mutual Life” features the historically preserved PacMutual building with a large clock and the same palm trees lining the plaza.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2025
The president also gave Kishida a custom-framed lithograph and a two-volume LP set autographed by Billy Joel.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 10, 2024
Leah was buried at New York’s elegant Green-Wood Cemetery, portrayed in this 1867 lithograph much like the heavenly Spiritualist Summerland.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Color lithographs of marine organisms drawn by the 19th-century zoologist Ernst Haeckel offer magical views of fantastically intricate flora and fauna—a huge influence on Ms. Van Herpen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
He did etchings, lithographs, even stained glass windows - equally at home working with the grandeur of opera design and the intimacy of pen and ink.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
I saw that one of the lithographs uses Picasso’s “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2025
On other days, you’d likely find him on the gallery’s mezzanine, buried among stacks of reference books to examine the artistic and historical quality of centuries-old and contemporary lithographs, etchings, engravings and other prints.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 29, 2024
With these will be great, crude lithographs, representing events in the last revolution, or some other fighting scenes.
From The Gold Diggings of Cape Horn A Study of Life in Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia by John R. Spears
It is considered to be the first box to have been lithographed, according to Dardenne, whose collection can be visited by appointment.
From Reuters ● Aug. 6, 2021
Many of King’s paintings had been lithographed before the fire, and the lithographs survive.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 21, 2015
It is lithographed instead of engraved, as are real federal debt issues, Winslow says.
From BusinessWeek ● Jan. 18, 2012
The lithographed and painted surfaces wore out, and the frames snapped.
From New York Times ● Dec. 16, 2010
"I'm not so bad as I'm lithographed," I said facetiously.
From From Pillar to Post Leaves from a Lecturer's Note-Book by John Kendrick Bangs
The Bogarts were wealthy: young Humphrey's grandfather had invented a process of lithographing on tin.
From Time Magazine Archive
So the entire staff, its friends, the executives of our lithographing company and their wives were all busy wrapping magazines.
From Time Magazine Archive
He promptly ran afoul of the Viennese authorities by boasting that he had discovered a way of lithographing bank notes.
From Time Magazine Archive
My lithograph bill alone, the last successful season of my show, amounted to $40,000, and this was before the days of extensive lithographing.
From Sawdust & Spangles Stories & Secrets of the Circus by W. C. Coup
Boys, you may go back to your lithographing now.
From The Circus Boys on the Plains : or, the Young Advance Agents Ahead of the Show by Edgar B. P. Darlington
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