paintball
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of paintball
Explanation
Paintball is a game in which players shoot harmless pellets full of colored dye at each other. Some people play paintball in teams, mimicking a military-style battle. During a paintball game, players use paintball markers, also known as paintball guns, to shoot capsules of paint at each other. Most people play for fun, although there are also official paintball leagues and teams, complete with organized tournaments. The US military has even used paintball as a way for soldiers to train for battle. The game of paintball was invented in 1981, and the first matches were played in New Hampshire.
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:
The house’s roof, the front steps and the driveway were spattered with white blotches, as if the area had been the site of a fierce paintball battle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
As he ambled toward the woods, West yelled “Hey bear, get out of here bear, go!” and fired powder balls from a paintball gun at him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 17, 2025
After firing the paintball gun, the suspect allegedly “threw a hand sign with his left hand while still holding the paintball gun in his right hand,” the affidavit says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2025
Rangers reportedly found three slingshots, a paintball marker, paintballs and other evidence inside their vehicle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2024
He was the paintball champion of Wake County and had a cousin in the Marines he wanted to fix up with Carol Lee.
From "Wish" by Barbara O'Connor
One night in 2022, he sneaked outside and blasted it with orange paintballs.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
Nature conservation society Fauna Protection objected to the plan, arguing it was an untested approach and it was unclear if the paintballs could seriously harm the animals.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 30, 2022
Wolves in parts of the Netherlands can be shot with paintballs in a bid to make them less tame, authorities say.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2022
The three students who were hit by the paintballs suffered minor injuries.
From Fox News ● Sep. 21, 2021
I stare across the Pit, where some Dauntless children chase each other up the path, hurling paintballs at the walls.
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
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.
