paintbrush

American  

[paynt-bruhsh] / ˈpeɪntˌbrʌʃ /

noun

• paintbrushes
  plural

1. a brush for applying paint, as one used in painting houses or one used in painting pictures.

2. any plant of the genus Castilleja.

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paintbrush British  

/ ˈpeɪntˌbrʌʃ /

noun

1. a brush used to apply paint

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• paintbrushes
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of paintbrush

First recorded in 1820–30; paint + brush ¹

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Explanation

The long-handled tool with bristles that artists use for dabbing color onto canvas is a paintbrush. If you want to tint your walls in shades of pink, you'll also need a paintbrush. Although some painters have famously splattered, dripped, rolled, and otherwise creatively applied paint to a canvas, the vast majority of them use paintbrushes. The type of paintbrush a housepainter uses has a shorter handle and wider bristles, but its purpose is the same: to smoothly and precisely apply paint to a surface. Whether your medium is watercolors, oil paints, or deck stain, your paintbrush will have soft bristles and a wooden or plastic handle.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

paintbrush paintbrushes

On Dec. 7, 1909, he admitted to Geffroy that he had not picked up a paintbrush in more than a year because of “wretched weather” and “awful headaches.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Digiovanni lived in temporary housing when she was younger and she was not allowed to decorate her property, but when she moved to a permanent address she was eager to get a paintbrush out.

From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026

Sitting cross-legged on a red carpet, artist Mohammad Younes Qane uses an ultra-fine paintbrush to trace details such as a horse's mane or the beads of a necklace.

From Barron's ● Feb. 4, 2026

The area is home to San Bernardino flying squirrels and ash-gray Indian paintbrush, a federally protected plant found only in the San Bernardino Mountains.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2025

Robbie stood there, a paintbrush in his trembling hand, his eyes open wide.

From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older

Along with the technicolor mural, Caland’s singular sensibility persists in scattered drawings, a bouquet of her preferred 30-inch paintbrushes and a pair of stiff-backed pews.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

These arms usually end in four short, shallow incisions, fingers that look like paintbrushes or tassels, but indicate hands.

From New York Times ● Feb. 1, 2024

That’s in no more than half an hour of walking around, without trowels and paintbrushes.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 30, 2023

At this former office building-turned-art-and-event space, repurposed conference rooms — projector screens still on the walls — have been transformed into artists’ studios featuring easels and paintbrushes.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 9, 2023

Dragon was born from a painting, from paintbrushes and inkstones . . . and like an echo, Minli remembered Ma talking about the artist who had come to Fruitless Mountain many years ago.

From "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin

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