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

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Etymology

Origin of pigment

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

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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

The skull had also been colored with cinnabar, a bright red pigment commonly used in ancient Peruvian funerary traditions.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026

For darker-skinned people, those marks take longer to go away because their skin produces extra pigment when stressed, Aguh said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

“So it actually is a black pigment that was made by burning ivory,” she said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

The statue has been patinated with a pigment refined from Lapis Lazuli, a semi-precious stone that has been used by artists for millennia.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

When a painter begins to paint, dipping the brush occasionally to dilute the pigment, the water might initially turn blue, or yellow.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

The desert's exceptionally arid conditions have helped preserve materials that would normally deteriorate over time, including hair, bones, clothing, leather, pigments, and decorated pottery.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026

In the absence of the green chlorophyll, red, yellow and orange pigments protect leaves from sun damage during this delicate recycling.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

“Most black pigments at that time were made by burning different materials.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

The research also revealed that the pigments Reynolds used contained lead as well as vermilion, carbon black and one or more iron-earth pigments.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

Her eyes share similar pigments to her hair.

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga

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Related Words

• coloring
• dye
• stain
• tint

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