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 painting was eventually transplanted to Jerusalem, where much of Kafka’s archives are also held.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
For those, however, who take their painting with a dash of the occult, the tempera panels of Bu Shi at Sarahcrown will delight.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
The discovery led to a police raid on the property, but the painting had seemingly been taken down and moved by the time authorities arrived.
From BBC • May 11, 2026
According to Brand, Seyffardt's granddaughter told the family member the painting was "Jewish looted art, stolen from Goudstikker. It is unsellable. Don't tell anyone."
From Barron's • May 11, 2026
He was wearing his painting coveralls with Fox Run stitched on the pocket.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
