Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

oil painting

American  

noun

oil paintings plural
  1. the art or technique of painting with oil colors.

  2. a painting executed in oil colors.


oil painting British  

noun

  1. a picture painted with oil paints

  2. the art or process of painting with oil paints

  3. informal he is not good-looking

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of oil painting

First recorded in 1775–85

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:

The oil painting created in 1821 has been exhibited at Christchurch Mansion in Ipswich, on loan to Colchester and Ipswich Museums from the National Gallery in London.

From BBC Jul. 11, 2026

An oil painting depicting a smiling Pretti in glasses, a beanie and a scarf, was among the most recent.

From Los Angeles Times Feb. 6, 2026

Monaco's royal Christmas card is much grander, with a big fire, oil painting, formal clothes, and a sense of regal order.

From BBC Dec. 22, 2025

“Every room needs a focal point, an artful place where your eyes can land,” says Los Angeles-based designer Jeff Andrews, who designed his primary bathroom around a vintage abstract oil painting by Aubrey Penny.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 30, 2025

Specifically, by the giant oil painting hanging above the table, which I can only assume is an early portrait of BoJack Horseman painted by Leonardo da Vinci himself.

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training