pigment

[ pig-muhnt ]

/ ˈpɪg mənt /

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See synonyms for: pigment / pigmented / pigmenting on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

a coloring matter or substance.

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

verb (used with object)

to color; add pigment to.

verb (used without object)

to become pigmented; acquire color; develop pigmentation: a poor quality of paper that doesn't pigment well.

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Origin of pigment

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

OTHER WORDS FROM pigment

hy·per·pig·ment·ed, adjectivenon·pig·ment·ed, adjectiveun·pig·ment·ed, adjective

Words nearby pigment

pig Latin, pig lead, piglet, pigling, pigmeat, pigment, pigmentary, pigmentation, Pigmy, pignoli, pignon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pigment in a sentence

Wiemann has used the approach to identify pigments in dinosaur eggs.
Early dinosaurs may have laid soft-shelled eggs|Jack J. Lee|August 3, 2020|Science News For Students
The pigments — chlorophylls, in green plants — absorb light and transfer the energy to a reaction center, where the production of chemical energy for the cell’s use is initiated.
Why Are Plants Green? To Reduce the Noise in Photosynthesis.|Rodrigo Pérez Ortega|July 30, 2020|Quanta Magazine
The pigments needed to absorb light at similar wavelengths to reduce the internal noise.
Why Are Plants Green? To Reduce the Noise in Photosynthesis.|Rodrigo Pérez Ortega|July 30, 2020|Quanta Magazine
It brings together oxygen and a pigment called luciferin to create light.
Let’s learn about bioluminescence|Bethany Brookshire|July 1, 2020|Science News For Students

That light is caused by the pigment that gives the corals color.
Going bright may help corals recover from bleaching|Carolyn Wilke|June 25, 2020|Science News For Students
Although the equipment is the same, a tattoo artist uses ink, and we use pigment.
Nipple Tattoos Increase in Popularity in U.K.|Tom Sykes|April 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The Daily Pic: Are the YBA's prints about the color of pigment, or the color of money?
Hirst's Signature Marks the Spot|Blake Gopnik|February 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Mariamu looks much younger than her years, and yet her white, pigment-free skin has become leathery from the sun.
Hope After An Unspeakable Crime|JuJu Chang|August 27, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Had the image been painted on the cloth by a forger, the paint traces of the pigment would have remained on the surface.
10 Reasons the Resurrection Really Happened|Jeffrey Hart|April 10, 2009|DAILY BEAST
They generally occur together, but the pigment is not infrequently present alone.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
The older forms are larger colorless bodies containing granules of brown pigment.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
The figures, besides being outlined by the dots, were decorated all over with the same pigment in dotted transverse belts.
Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia] [Volume 2 of 2]|Phillip Parker King
The walls were coated with fine stucco, white and firm—an evidence of antiquity—and ornamented with bands of a bright red pigment.
The Catacombs of Rome|William Henry Withrow
The face of the wall is then rubbed over with a soft brick of the same colour, or the work may be coloured with pigment.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3|Various

British Dictionary definitions for pigment

pigment

/ (ˈpɪɡmənt) /

noun

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

any substance used to impart colour

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

Derived forms of pigment

pigmentary, adjective

Word Origin for pigment

C14: from Latin pigmentum, from pingere to paint

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for pigment

pigment

[ pĭg′mənt ]

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.

A substance or material used as coloring.

pigment

Origin of pigment

OTHER WORDS FROM pigment

Words nearby pigment

Words related to pigment

How to use pigment in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pigment

Derived forms of pigment

Word Origin for pigment

Scientific definitions for pigment