pinup
Americannoun
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a large photograph, as of a sexually attractive person, suitable for pinning on a wall.
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a person in such a photograph.
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a device or fixture that is fastened to a wall, as a lamp.
adjective
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of, relating to, or appearing in a pinup.
a pinup girl.
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designed or suitable for hanging or fastening on a wall.
a pinup lamp.
Etymology
Origin of pinup
1670–80 for general senses; 1940–45 as photograph of a pretty woman; noun, adj. use of pin up
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.
That she was more than a pinup was not even then a secret — a Life magazine cover story at the time of “Rock Hunter” called her “Broadway’s smartest dumb blonde.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2025
“Same clothes. Same music. Same pinup girls. Seriously. To have an idea when someone mentions a heavy metal group, that helps.”
From Washington Post ● Apr. 14, 2023
The Pirelli calendar, now in its 49th edition since 1964, has evolved from its pinup origins into a major platform for art photographers, more recently moving away from nudity.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 16, 2022
The image seems to point to the light-years of time and space contained within a Black woman’s existence, while also suggesting that these are erased within the one-dimensional medium of a pinup.
From New York Times ● Sep. 30, 2021
You're no pinup boy, Steve, but—and this may come as a shock to you—women don't put one-tenth the stock in pulchritude that men do?
From Highways in Hiding by George Oliver Smith
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.
