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graffiti
[ gruh-fee-tee ]
/ grÉËfi ti /
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noun
plural of graffito.
(used with a plural verb) markings, as initials, slogans, or drawings, written, spray-painted, or sketched on a sidewalk, wall of a building or public restroom, or the like: These graffiti are evidence of the neighborhood's decline.
(used with a singular verb) such markings as a whole or as constituting a particular group: Not much graffiti appears around here these days.
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Origin of graffiti
usage note for graffiti
In formal speech and writing graffiti takes a plural verb. In less formal contexts it is sometimes considered a mass noun and is used with a singular verb. The singular graffito is found mostly in archaeological and other technical writing.
OTHER WORDS FROM graffiti
graf·fi·tist, nounWords nearby graffiti
Graeco-, Graeco-Roman, Graeffe method, Graf, GrÀfenberg spot, graffiti, graffito, graft, graftage, grafter, graft hybrid
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use graffiti in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for graffiti
graffiti
/ (ÉĄrĂŠËfiËtiË) /
pl n singular -to (-tÉÊ)
(sometimes with singular verb) drawings, messages, etc, often obscene, scribbled on the walls of public lavatories, advertising posters, etc
archaeol inscriptions or drawings scratched or carved onto a surface, esp rock or pottery
Derived forms of graffiti
graffitist, nounWord Origin for graffiti
C19: graffito from Italian: a little scratch, from graffio, from Latin graphium stylus, from Greek grapheion; see graft 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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