pigment

American  

[pig-muhnt] / ˈpɪg mənt /

noun

pigments plural

1. a dry insoluble substance, usually pulverized, which when suspended in a liquid vehicle becomes a paint, ink, etc.

2. a coloring matter or substance.

3. Biology. any substance whose presence in the tissues or cells of animals or plants colors them.

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verb (used with object)

1. to color; add pigment to.

verb (used without object)

1. to become pigmented; acquire color; develop pigmentation.

   a poor quality of paper that doesn't pigment well.

pigment British  

/ ˈpɪɡmənt /

noun

1. a substance occurring in plant or animal tissue and producing a characteristic colour, such as chlorophyll in green plants and haemoglobin in red blood

2. any substance used to impart colour

3. a powder that is mixed with a liquid to give a paint, ink, etc

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pigment Scientific  

/ pĭg′mənt /

1. An organic compound that gives a characteristic color to plant or animal tissues and is involved in vital processes. Chlorophyll, which gives a green color to plants, and hemoglobin, which gives blood its red color, are examples of pigments.

2. A substance or material used as coloring.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hyperpigmented
  adjective
• nonpigmented
  adjective
• pigmentary
  adjective
• unpigmented
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• pigments
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pigment

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin pigmentum paint, equivalent to pig- (stem of pingere to paint ) + -mentum -ment

Explanation

Something's color is its pigment. Technically, all living things have a natural pigment — leaves have a green pigment for example — but the word is more generally applied to human skin color. The other, more technical, use of pigment refers to the substance, usually a powder, that is added to a liquid to give it its color. For example, ultramarine paint is made from a crushed blue silicate that mixed with oil produces a brilliant blue tone. Other pigments were achieved in less pleasant ways. The bright yellow of many Indian paintings? Cow's urine. The red of medieval ox-blood walls? You guessed it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pigment pigments

WSJ | Buy Side: This Chanel skin tint features pigment droplets suspended in a water-gel formula to enhance your skin’s appearance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026

Scientists can estimate a plant's metabolic activity by examining its chlorophyll, the green pigment that allows plants to carry out photosynthesis.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 6, 2026

Crucially, the artist did more than simply spray pigment around a hand pressed to the wall, the researchers say.

From BBC ● Jan. 21, 2026

Its provenance was certified through methods including X-ray imaging and pigment analysis, he added.

From Barron's ● Nov. 30, 2025

They don't have circulation problems; they just don't have much pigment.

From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan

But the clay was dry and there was a colorful palette of pigments in front of me.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

The red color of red leaf lettuce comes from anthocyanins, a group of polyphenol pigments that have attracted attention for their antioxidant properties.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 15, 2026

Respectively done on English paper and Indian cotton, each combines techniques from Qing dynasty bird-and-flower painting, Mughal court art and European natural-history studies, not to mention pigments from England, China and India.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026

Uranium-thorium dating has now been to examine the pigments, leading the international team conducting the research under Nash to conclude the lines were created by "human agency" rather than natural processes.

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026

One part of the organism produces a pinkish pigment, now called blepharismin, which is similar to hypericin and certain other photosensitizing plant pigments.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

Related Words

• coloring
• dye
• stain
• tint