- present participle of paint.
noun
-
the art or process of applying paints to a surface such as canvas, to make a picture or other artistic composition
-
a composition or picture made in this way
-
the act of applying paint to a surface with a brush
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of painting
Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; see origin at paint, -ing 1
Explanation
If you want to study painting, go to art school. If that doesn’t work out, maybe you can get a job painting houses. Then you can paint a house purple or paint a picture, which is called a painting. Slapping a coat of paint on your apartment walls is painting, but so is creating a masterpiece like Van Gogh's "Starry Night" or maybe even C.M. Coolidge’s “Dogs Playing Poker.” The picture that results from your painting experiments is also called a painting. The Latin root of painting, pingere, means "to paint," but also "to stain, embroider, or tattoo."
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:
“When I make a painting, I have control of the paint and the brushstroke and image,” Herman says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Her dance, as captured in the photo, would also later go on to be recreated in a painting by artist Claudette Johnson, external, which will also appear in the Wolverhampton exhibition.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
It also included writings and a large painting of a forest made with tar, oil and feathers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
A renowned painting by British landscape artist William Turner has returned to the city that inspired it nearly two centuries ago.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
Then the painting would have belonged in Gallery Eleven, Use of Mythic Figures in Ominous Landscapes.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
He is delighted he can produce functional objects as well as massive paintings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
His paintings and ceramics are layered and collage-like, driven by instinct rather than by a predestined end point.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Mr. Bond guides readers through ancient depictions of animals, including the gorgeous array of prehistoric cave paintings, with their mixture of dangerous predators and powerful herbivores.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
In the exhibit pamphlet, RM notes that Hyong-keun’s paintings are often compared to Rothko’s, but “their darkness is not the same.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Agnes, but your farm looks really run-down, like those paintings of barns with the roof falling in.
From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones
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.
