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, which came from the private collection of media magnate SI Newhouse, is also now the fourth most expensive artwork ever sold at auction, according to ARTnews.
From BBC • May 19, 2026
An early mayoral profile described Mahan as painting a whiteboard behind his desk to “write on the wall as I did in my tech days.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026
In closing arguments, both sides took turns painting the other’s client as untrustworthy.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
Musk did not touch him, but took a painting of a Tesla, a gift from one of the co-founders, down from the wall and left the room, he said.
From Barron's • May 18, 2026
Never have I seen so many elegant houses, castles, and churches arranged like a painting on the horizon.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
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.
