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• finger paint
  finger paint

  noun

  a jellylike paint, used chiefly by children in painting, usually with their fingers.
• finger-paint
  finger-paint

  verb (used with or without object)

  to paint by using finger paints.

finger paint

¹ American  

noun

1. a jellylike paint, used chiefly by children in painting, usually with their fingers.

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finger-paint ² American  

[fing-ger-peynt] / ˈfɪŋ gərˌpeɪnt /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to paint by using finger paints.

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Other Word Forms

• finger painting
  noun

Etymology

Origin of finger paint¹

First recorded in 1945–50

Origin of finger-paint²

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

Those on a more restrictive budget can achieve more or less the same effect with Legos and finger paint somewhere with a food truck in the vicinity.

From The Guardian • Feb. 26, 2018

Ever since my son was a baby, he’s had a fascination with airplanes, peering up at them through his long eyelashes, and drawing contrails in the sky with white finger paint.

From Salon • Jul. 4, 2017

Younger children are getting a faceful of finger paint.

From Time • Jul. 30, 2010

He can get a blob of finger paint all over a sheet of paper.

From Time Magazine Archive

I carefully finger paint the words on its body, concealing them from view.

From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins