fresco
Americannoun
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frescoes,
plural
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frescos
plural
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Also called buon fresco. Also called true fresco. the art or technique of painting on a moist, plaster surface with colors ground up in water or a limewater mixture.
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a picture or design so painted.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a very durable method of wall-painting using watercolours on wet plaster or, less properly, dry plaster ( fresco secco ), with a less durable result
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a painting done in this way
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of fresco
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Italian: “cool, fresh,” of Germanic origin; see fresh
Explanation
Whether you've studied art history or not, you're probably familiar with the world's most famous fresco: Michelangelo's paintings on the walls and ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. To paint a fresco, you must apply paint to freshly applied plaster that is still wet, and you better get it right the first time. Too slow and the plaster hardens, and then you've got a lot of chipping away to do. Fresco comes from the Italian fresco, meaning "cool" or "fresh," which describes exactly the fast, unlabored technique required of fresco painting.
Vocabulary lists containing fresco
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Stroke of Genius: Words About Painting
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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 extraordinary sanctuary offers a “fully private backyard paradise,” the listing states, complete with an al fresco kitchen, fire pit, and tranquil koi pond.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
The Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch's al fresco speech and news conference on a rooftop in central London on Thursday was a tacit acknowledgement that the political terms of trade have changed.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Renata Pintus, who heads the masonry department at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence's famous restoration workshop, told AFP it had been a "privilege" to work on Giotto's famous fresco cycle.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
During warmer months, the patio offers an excellent spot for al fresco dining.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
His hair was messy, but he had a magnificent smile, which immediately ranked him in the category of human beings who deserved to be painted into the gigantic fresco in her bedroom.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
The water gushed through gaps in the roof, running down the frescoes on the facade and onto the icons inside.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
Giotto's Santa Croce frescoes are receiving the final touches of a four-year restoration in Florence, with scaffolding poised to be removed ahead of an official reveal in September.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
Even the prosecutor touring a buried villa that’s become a crime scene, illegally stripped of its frescoes, bemoans what’s been lost when thieves rob a people of their ancestors’ memories.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026
"Painters used to put all sorts of things in frescoes," Monsignor Daniele Micheletti said.
From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2026
At Sikandra, Akbar’s tomb, they gaze at gilded frescoes in the entryway, chipped, ransacked, burned, the gems gouged out with penknives, graffiti etched into the stone.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Rivera’s monumental frescos require constant scraping and repainting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
The frescos on the ceiling, the intricate wooden and stone carvings that punctuate the space, they’re all in perfect condition.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2025
Earlier this year, archaeologists revealed frescos of mythical Greek figures including Helen of Troy and Apollo.
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2024
Inside the breathtaking Art Deco interiors of the Palais de la Porte Doree, Issey Miyake ’s guests admired wall-to-wall frescos and bas-reliefs of exotic scenes lit up in dappled lighting.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 1, 2024
In the study of his writings, we recognise all the essential characteristics of his genius, as revealed to the world in his marbles, frescos, and the edifices erected by his hand.
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 60, No. 373, November 1846 by Various
Once virtually lost to memory after being painted over with whitewash, the frescoes began to be uncovered in the mid-19th century -- but the work left scratches and pockets of white on the frescoed walls.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
The New York County Courthouse's Roman façade and frescoed interiors have played backdrop to many iconic movies and television shows - perhaps, most famously, Goodfellas.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2023
On Tuesday, the two autocratic presidents will dine at a state banquet in a richly frescoed hall used by a long line of Russian czars.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2023
His body first laid in state in the frescoed Clementine Hall for Vatican staff and then was moved to St. Peter's Basilica for viewing by the public.
From Reuters ● Dec. 30, 2022
The whole of the apse had been taken over by a monumental furnace, and a brick chimney cut right up through the center of the frescoed dome, obliterating the heads of angels.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
The medium made famous by Michelangelo, da Vinci and Fra Angelico, frescoing is a delicate process that entails crushing pigments and painting them into wet plaster before it dries.
From Washington Post ● May 6, 2021
Near the end of his torturous years of frescoing, Michelangelo was painting right over the elevated area where the pope would sit on his gilded throne.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 5, 2012
In the lantern where the frescoing is contemplated the wall will be faced with porous brick, on which the proper fresco plaster can be spread.
From The American Architect and Building News, Vol. 27, Jan-Mar, 1890 by Various
I'm sick; and it's medicine I need, not frescoing.'
From Roads of Destiny by O. Henry
"What a beautiful home Mrs. Hayden has!" said Mrs. Ferris to her neighbor with the severe collar and plain hair, as they examined the exquisite frescoing on the parlor ceiling.
From The Right Knock A Story by Helen Van-Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
