paintbrush

[ peynt-bruhsh ]

/ ˈpeɪntˌbrʌʃ /

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noun

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

any plant of the genus Castilleja.

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Origin of paintbrush

First recorded in 1820–30; paint + brush¹

Words nearby paintbrush

paintball, paintball game, paint black, paintbox, paint bridge, paintbrush, paint-by-numbers, painted, painted beauty, painted bunting, painted cup

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use paintbrush in a sentence

Yves Klein first painted a naked woman blue in 1958 and used her as a “human paintbrush.”
The Life and Art of Radical Provocateur—and Commune Leader—Otto Muehl|Anthony Haden-Guest|September 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So he was really using a paintbrush for the first time in his life.
Can You Paint Like Johannes Vermeer, Too?|Andrew Romano|December 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The Psycho theme song rang in my head as her poop-filled paintbrush crept closer to my face.
I Got a $180 Bird-Poop Facial|Kelsey Meany|August 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The younger Kate, in contrast, turned her own schoolgirl training with a paintbrush into a career.
Charles Dickens’s Unhappy Children|Michael Gorra|December 2, 2012|DAILY BEAST

But the call for the wielders of the paintbrush came not only from the sea.
Inventions of the Great War|A. Russell (Alexander Russell) Bond
Desert primroses showed their rounded pink clusters in sunny places, and here and there burned the carmine of Indian paintbrush.
The Call of the Canyon|Zane Grey
Here the columbine, the paintbrush, the monument-plant, and scores of other bright blossoms cheer the wild frontier.
The Rocky Mountain Wonderland|Enos A. Mills
Autumn's gorgeous paintbrush laid wonderful coloring upon the maple and alder and birch that lined the lake shore.
Big Timber|Bertrand W. Sinclair
In 1906 London went quite mad over a Venus whose entire wardrobe was applied with a paintbrush.
The Footlights Fore and Aft|Channing Pollock

British Dictionary definitions for paintbrush

paintbrush

/ (ˈpeɪntˌbrʌʃ) /

noun

a brush used to apply paint

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