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

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

Whether spreading pigment across the desert floor, choreographing participants into a living drawing or appearing in her own films, Albuquerque brings a human presence into environments whose scale can dwarf it.

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

Blepharismin causes no trouble unless the animal swims into sunlight, but then the pigment kills it outright.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

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

The first episode investigated that illegible signature and the pigments possibly used on the canvas, including Prussian blue and ivory black.

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

These naturally occurring minerals can produce dark pigments, but they do not contain the organic carbon needed for radiocarbon dating.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

Bulges in the rock implied bulk, and tonal shading with earth-tone pigments lent contour and perspective.

From "The Annotated Mona Lisa" by Carol Strickland and John Boswell

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Related Words

• coloring
• dye
• stain
• tint

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