visual arts

American

plural noun

the arts created primarily for visual perception, as drawing, graphics, painting, sculpture, and the decorative arts.

visual arts British

plural noun

the arts of painting, sculpting, photography, etc, as opposed to music, drama, and literature

"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

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.

Co-creators and hosts Woods and Nigel Poor, who taught visual arts at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, met at the prison’s media center.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2026

Ms. Chan cites these prehistoric connections as examples of how tightly humanity has entwined music into its visual arts.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

Multiple studies have shown that visual arts training improves observational skills, communication and empathy among both medical students and residents in ophthalmology, nuclear medicine, radiology, and dermatology.

From Science Daily • Nov. 14, 2024

Instead of doing that, I went to art school, which somehow was more respectable, and studied visual arts.

From Salon • Sep. 28, 2024

Everybody in visual arts loves Sonny’s graffiti pieces.

From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023