- present participle of paint.
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
-
a composition or picture made in this way
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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:
I do experience some manic phases from time to time, where I can’t stop doing things like painting or writing songs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Imagine the painting without the dog, writes Mr. Laqueur.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
The prosecutor's office is already investigating a criminal complaint regarding the 958,000-euro renovation of the tower's surrounding 700-metre wall, for which workers were painting a brick-effect concrete facade instead of laying brick cladding.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
“At the bottom of the painting is an inscription: ‘But she was kind…’ When I am no longer about, I hope someone will be able to say that about me.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
The painting of the dysfunctional family in front of me begins to move—pointing and laughing at me.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
He took inspiration from paintings, including Alexandre Cabanel’s 1847 work “The Fallen Angel,” which depicts the devil after his fall from heaven.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
The cat may be evolution’s artwork, but it is the dog that holds sway in prints and paintings, and in many cases transforms them into masterpieces.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Pondering these points of analysis, the preface weaves in studio photographs, Kodak snaps and paintings by Jan van Eyck, Bronzino and Titian.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
“Fabulous,” concluded Álvaro Muñoz, 41 a university professor from Colombia, after viewing the paintings of Kahlo and others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Nowadays, of course, people are accustomed to paintings of sheep that look nothing like actual sheep, but simply content themselves with being paintings, full of color and lines and interesting shapes.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
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.
