noun
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the art or process of applying paints to a surface such as canvas, to make a picture or other artistic composition
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a composition or picture made in this way
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the act of applying paint to a surface with a brush
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.
The thief hadn’t stolen a famous painting whose absence would leave an empty space on a gallery wall.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
The previous auction record for one of Pollock's artworks was $61.2m for his Number 17, 1951 painting, which was sold in 2021.
From BBC • May 19, 2026
Whether that was playing on stage with the band, drawing, or painting huge canvases, he was never “sitting around, doing nothing.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026
A Jackson Pollock painting on Monday became the fourth most expensive work ever sold at auction when it was bought at Christie's in New York.
From Barron's • May 19, 2026
She motions to her painting, pats the blanket next to her.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
