noun
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the art or process of applying paints to a surface such as canvas, to make a picture or other artistic composition
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a composition or picture made in this way
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the act of applying paint to a surface with a brush
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."
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.
Painting is relatively underrepresented in the show, but what is here is almost universally impressive.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026
Painting Kirk as a good-faith debate enthusiast who just wanted to talk it out is about as dishonest as it gets.
From Slate • Oct. 6, 2025
Painting the concrete would erase that life, she added.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 1, 2025
As Zeitz's director and curator, Kouoh oversaw a number of acclaimed exhibitions, including When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting.
From BBC • May 11, 2025
“Remember when Daddy used to do things like this? Painting, mending stairs, patching the roof.”
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
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.
