japan
noun
any of various hard, durable, black varnishes, originally from Japan, for coating wood, metal, or other surfaces.
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japan
1 American
[juh-pan]
/ dʒəˈpæn /
noun
-
any of various hard, durable, black varnishes, originally from Japan, for coating wood, metal, or other surfaces.
-
work varnished and figured in the Japanese manner.
-
Japans, a variety of decorative motifs or patterns derived from Asian sources, used on English porcelain of the 18th and 19th centuries.
adjective
verb (used with object)
japanned,
japanning
-
to varnish with japan; lacquer.
-
to coat with any material that gives a hard, black gloss.
Japan
2
American
[juh-pan]
/ dʒəˈpæn /
noun
-
Japanese Nihon, Nippon. a constitutional monarchy on a chain of islands off the eastern coast of Asia: main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. 141,529 sq. mi. (366,560 sq. km). Tokyo.
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Sea of Japan, a marginal sea bounded by North Korea, the Far Eastern mainland of Russia, the Russian island Sakhalin, Japan, and South Korea: largely enclosed from the Pacific Ocean and seldom affected by tides.
Japan.
3
American
abbreviation
japan
1
British
/ dʒəˈpæn /
noun
-
a glossy durable black lacquer originally from the Orient, used on wood, metal, etc
-
work decorated and varnished in the Japanese manner
-
a liquid used as a paint drier
adjective
verb
Japan
2
British
/ dʒəˈpæn /
noun
Japan
Cultural
Discover More
Although a world leader in shipbuilding, electronics, and automobile manufacture, Japan's economy suffered a severe slump during the 1990s.
Called the “Land of the Rising Sun,” Japan is symbolized by a red sun on a white background.
Japan's ports were first opened to Western traders in the sixteenth century but were closed in the seventeenth century. Japan remained in virtual isolation until the 1850s, when an American naval officer, Matthew C. Perry, persuaded the government to reopen trade with the West.
Another symbol (see also symbol) of Japan is Fujiyama, also called Mount Fuji, a volcano whose symmetrical snow-capped peak has been the object of countless pilgrimages, poems, and paintings. It has not erupted since 1707.
Suffering from overcrowding, lack of natural resources, and the influence of powerful military factions, Japan pursued an aggressive policy of expansion in China during the 1930s, ultimately resulting in a military alliance with Germany and Italy to form the Axis powers in World War II. (See also Hiroshima (see also Hiroshima), Pearl Harbor, and Douglas MacArthur.)
Imperial Japan was organized on a feudal system (see feudalism), characterized by the samurai (the warrior class, which eventually became landed gentry) and the shogun (the hereditary administrative leader). The emperor, believed to be divine, was the ceremonial leader. Japan is a constitutional monarchy today.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of japan1
First recorded in 1605–15; special use of Japan
Origin of Japan2
First recorded in 1570–80 as Giapan; from Malay Jăpung, Japang, from Middle Chinese; see origin at Nippon ( def. )
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:
Shame on anyone who shall try to shame them for that and deny them basic rights. tpng813 Just like how japan denies its massive massacres across china.
From Time ● Aug. 13, 2013
One-half pint japan added to gallon of paint.
From Paint Technology and Tests by Henry A. Gardner
To produce such a stain take 1 lb. of drop black in oil and 1/2 oz, of rose pink in oil, adding a gill of best japan drier, thinning with three half-pints of turpentine.
From Mission Furniture How to Make It, Part I by H. H. (Henry Haven) Windsor
After the second coat had hardened it was rubbed down with pumice that the surface might be perfectly smooth before the final layer of japan was applied.
From The Story of Leather by Sara Ware Bassett
The figures are all in their proper colours, of a style not unlike those of japan ware, having no pretence to symmetry or proportion.
From Rambles in an Old City comprising antiquarian, historical, biographical and political associations by S. S. Madders
Bank of Japan policy board member Hajime Takata is slated to speak to business leaders in Hokkaido on Wednesday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
I have a distinct childhood memory of being shocked awake at 3 in the morning during the 2002 World Cup—the one that was held in Japan and South Korea.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026
Paramedics in Japan have a problem — polite homeowners rearranging their shoes.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026
The Bank of Japan intervenes in the market under the instruction of the ministry to ease economic damage from sharp fluctuations in exchange rates.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
This astonishing show of might among the Allies is the beginning of the end for Germany and Japan, though a year will pass before there are any more surrenders.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
“They wanted a little bit of help and we’re always there for Japan. Japan has been very good to us,” he said, “with the exception, of course, of Pearl Harbor.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
“The hype started in Japan. In Japan there are even cafés where you have contact with capybaras. And the internet helped, and the public is always curious. They want to know about the species.”
From Slate ● May 27, 2026
"We've dealt with Japan. I'm not sure we're going to make a deal. I doubt it," he told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2025
“Go to Japan. By the time you get there, probably have a day down. Then be fine by the day before the game.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2025
“Ate this in Japan. Decades ago. An international meet. Our team hosts said we had to try.”
From "Black Brother, Black Brother" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
His sponges were the ordinary reef sponges and these he would rinse in an old japanned basin, changing the water in the basin only when it became too bloody to return the sponges relatively clean.
From Time Magazine Archive
He lighted the shank of candle in the japanned candlestick and regarded the bed—as spineless as a hammock and covered with a dirty patchwork quilt, the cotton batting spilling from the edges.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
It was an old, battered, black japanned receptacle without a lock, and only secured against accidental opening by a wooden peg inserted through the catch.
From Betty Grier by Joseph Laing Waugh
Bilston contains numerous furnaces, forges, rolling and slitting mills for the preparation of iron, and a great variety of factories for japanned and painted goods, brass-work and heavy iron goods.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7 "Bible" to "Bisectrix" by Various
This functionary I met, swelling with importance, but a trifle blown from the frequent sounding of his clarion, to wit, a japanned fish-horn.
From Nooks and Corners of the New England Coast by Samuel Adams Drake
In japanning it is best to have the oven at rather a lower temperature, increasing the heat after the work has been placed in the oven.
From Handbook on Japanning: 2nd Edition For Ironware, Tinware, Wood, Etc. With Sections on Tinplating and Galvanizing by William N. Brown
E Enamelling and japanning stoves, 29-46. —— —— —— —— heated by direct fire, 34. —— —— —— —— heated by hot-water pipes, 36. —— or japanning metals, 20-28. —— old work, 27.
From Handbook on Japanning: 2nd Edition For Ironware, Tinware, Wood, Etc. With Sections on Tinplating and Galvanizing by William N. Brown
Pigments suitable for japanning with natural lacquer, 45. —— black, 46. —— blue, 46. —— green, 46. —— red, 46. —— white, 45. —— yellow, 46.
From Handbook on Japanning: 2nd Edition For Ironware, Tinware, Wood, Etc. With Sections on Tinplating and Galvanizing by William N. Brown
To make shellac varnish for japanning, 46 47.
From A Select Collection of Valuable and Curious Arts and Interesting Experiments, Which are Well Explained and Warranted Genuine and may be Performed Easily, Safely, and at Little Expense. by Various Unknown
Dick interposed with a question as to the process, aim, and object of japanning, but Mr Button passed the question by.
From The Blue Lagoon: a romance by H. De Vere (Henry De Vere) Stacpoole
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.
