tint

American  

[tint] / tɪnt /

noun

• tints
  plural

1. a color or a variety of a color; hue.

2. a color diluted with white; a color of less than maximum purity, chromo, or saturation.

3. a delicate or pale color.

4. any of various commercial dyes for the hair.

5. Engraving. a uniform shading, as that produced by a series of fine parallel lines.

6. Also called tint block.  Printing. a faintly or lightly colored background upon which an illustration or the like is to be printed.

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verb (used with object)

• tints,
  present (3rd person singular)
• tinted,
  past participle,  past
• tinting
  present participle

1. to apply a tint or tints to; color slightly or delicately; tinge.

tint British  

/ tɪnt /

noun

1. a shade of a colour, esp a pale one

2. a colour that is softened or desaturated by the addition of white

3. a tinge

4. a semipermanent dye for the hair

5. a trace or hint

   a tint of jealousy in his voice

6. engraving uniform shading, produced esp by hatching

7. printing a panel of colour serving as a background to letters or other matter

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verb

1. (tr) to colour or tinge

2. (tr) to change or influence slightly

   his answer was tinted by his prior knowledge

3. (intr) to acquire a tint

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overtint
  noun
• tinter
  noun
• overtint
  verb
• retint
  verb (used with object)
• nontinted
  adjective
• untinted
  adjective
• well-tinted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tints
  plural

Participles

• tinting
  present
• tinted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• tint
  simple
• tints
  simple
• have tinted
  perfect
• has tinted
  perfect
• am tinting
  progressive
• are tinting
  progressive
• is tinting
  progressive
• have been tinting
  perfect progressive
• has been tinting
  perfect progressive

Past

• tinted
  simple
• had tinted
  perfect
• was tinting
  progressive
• were tinting
  progressive
• had been tinting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will tint
  simple
• will have tinted
  perfect
• will be tinting
  progressive
• will have been tinting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of tint

First recorded in 1710–20; variant of tinct

Explanation

A tint is a shade or type of color. You might describe ocean water during a storm as having tints of green and gray. After you play with your dog in the snow, your cold cheeks might take on a tint of pink. And an artist might change the color of the sky in a painting with a tint of purple. Tint is also a verb, meaning "shade" or "color very slightly." So rinsing beets will probably tint your white sink. Before it evolved into tint, the word was tinct, from the Latin tinctus, "a dyeing."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tint tints tinted tinting

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

As plant debris and soil organic matter wash into the lake from surrounding forests, they tint the water a deep brown.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 24, 2026

Finish with fresh herbs and a quick yogurt sauce: lemon juice, chopped herbs and enough Old Bay to tint it faintly coral.

From Salon ● Feb. 24, 2026

But she sees a transformed picture in the smallest of adjustments, like the deeper tint of a shadow.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2025

Scoob can see the slightly yellow tint to her skin, and every time she moves, it’s clear her back hurts.

From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone

The red and blue of the women’s clothing echo the tints of the rainbow itself, as do smaller, random flecks of color throughout.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026

The court heard the off-duty officer knocked on his tinted passenger window and said: "Get rid of your tints and get off your phone."

From BBC ● Jan. 2, 2025

Although there have been rare, noncommercial screenings over the years, the expiration of the copyright is what allowed Stenn to finance a restoration with the original tints.

From New York Times ● Jan. 11, 2024

He was then placed under house arrest in July after being pulled over by the Florida Highway Patrol because his window tints were too dark.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2023

He drowsed and saw the colors of the fire, the tints of green and blue and burning yellow.

From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers

Agents with their faces covered up to their eyes, in unmarked black SUVs with tinted windows, would wait outside churches, mosques, schools, daycares, courtrooms, and hospitals.

From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026

In May 2023, Cancino and his partner pulled over a man for allegedly speeding and having tinted windows, said his attorney, Nicole Castronovo.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

They also stopped cars with faults including bald tyres, illegally tinted windows and broken seat belts.

From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026

What makes the character indelible is the ghoulish heavy makeup, a bright red wig with tiny bangs, and oversized tinted sunglasses -- a cartoonish look that has gone viral.

From Barron's ● Mar. 15, 2026

They can’t see through our tinted windows, but they know that this is the only route taken to escort the players to the dome.

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu

The cause, of course, is a smoggy blanket of fumes from wildfires in Canada that have been drifting south, muting the sun and tinting the sky a foreboding apricot hue.

From Salon ● Jun. 8, 2023

On a sunny day, all these growing things have a stained-glass effect, tinting the light greenish.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 28, 2023

But on that afternoon—hot, windless—smoke drifted between the domes, tinting the scene with a sepia filter, and no one was in sight.

From Slate ● Nov. 27, 2021

Sisters Thai puts its own spin on the traditional Thai sweet by tinting the rice blue.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 22, 2021

She heard the smile in what he was saying, but there was a hint of regret, too, tinting all his words blue.

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon

Related Words

• coloration
• complexion
• glow
• hue
• tinge