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Synonyms

painting

American  
[peyn-ting] / ˈpeɪn tɪŋ /

noun

  1. a picture or design executed in paints.

  2. the act, art, or work of a person who paints.

  3. the works of art painted in a particular manner, place, or period.

    a book on Flemish painting.

  4. an instance of covering a surface with paint.

painting British  
/ ˈpeɪntɪŋ /

noun

  1. the art or process of applying paints to a surface such as canvas, to make a picture or other artistic composition

  2. a composition or picture made in this way

  3. the act of applying paint to a surface with a brush

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of painting

Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; see origin at paint, -ing 1

Explanation

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."

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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.

The penitent Magdalene was a popular subject in Artemisia’s day, and several versions of the painting exist.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

We can all conjure up the painting of him educating these rich white men about the founding principles of America.

From Slate • Apr. 17, 2026

For an artist like Lori, who works part-time at a Chinese food truck while painting and writing art criticism on the side, the job is both a dream and a nightmare.

From Salon • Apr. 17, 2026

It may not be the landmark L.A. asked for, but in Sayre Gomez’s painting “Vertigo,” you begin to understand why it’s the one we deserve.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

“I know you mean well. But I won’t have you reading books and painting pictures and making clever presents for the baby. That will never do.”

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

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.