lacquer

American  

[lak-er] / ˈlæk ər /

Or lacker

noun

1. a protective coating consisting of a resin, cellulose ester, or both, dissolved in a volatile solvent, sometimes with pigment added.

2. any of various resinous varnishes, especially a resinous varnish obtained from a Japanese tree, Rhus verniciflua, used to produce a highly polished, lustrous surface on wood or the like.

3. Also called lacquerware.  Also called lacquer ware,.  ware, especially of wood, coated with such a varnish, and often inlaid.

   They collected fine Japanese lacquers.

4. Slang. any volatile solvent that produces euphoria when inhaled.

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verb (used with object)

1. to coat with lacquer.

2. to cover, as with facile or fluent words or explanations cleverly worded, etc.; obscure the faults of; gloss (often followed byover ).

   The speech tended to lacquer over the terrible conditions.

lacquer British  

/ ˈlækə /

noun

1. a hard glossy coating made by dissolving cellulose derivatives or natural resins in a volatile solvent

2. a black resinous substance, obtained from certain trees, used to give a hard glossy finish to wooden furniture

3. Also called: varnish tree.  an E Asian anacardiaceous tree, Rhus verniciflua, whose stem yields a toxic exudation from which black lacquer is obtained

4. Also called: hair lacquer.  a mixture of shellac and alcohol for spraying onto the hair to hold a style in place

5. art decorative objects coated with such lacquer, often inlaid

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verb

1. (tr) to apply lacquer to

Other Word Forms

• lacquerer noun
• relacquer verb (used with object)
• unlacquered adjective

Etymology

Origin of lacquer

1570–80; earlier leckar, laker < Portuguese lacre, lacar, unexplained variant of laca < Arabic lakk < Persian lâk lac ¹

Example Sentences

The Georgian-style, brick and stone home offers an array of gorgeous details, like glossy wood and stone floors, red lacquer walls in the formal dining room, and numerous fireplaces.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 25, 2026

The barrels -- bound tightly with rope, their fabric skins stiffened and darkened with lacquer -- inevitably recall the Gulf's vast hydrocarbon wealth.

From Barron's • Feb. 16, 2026

Ms. Kondo illustrates mottainai through art forms that evolved from the spirit of preservation—including kintsugi, or the painstaking process of repairing broken pottery with a combination of lacquer and gold.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025

Instead, he seems as if he’s trying to lacquer on a veneer of righteousness to some very nasty business.

From Slate • Nov. 20, 2025

With her little lacquer brush, while the phone was ringing, she went over the nail of her little finger, accentuating the line of the moon.

From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger

Related Words

• glaze
• varnish