watercolor
Americannoun
-
a pigment for which water and not oil is used as the vehicle.
-
the art or technique of painting with such pigments.
-
a painting or design executed in such pigments by this technique.
Other Word Forms
- water-color adjective
- watercolorist noun
Etymology
Origin of watercolor
Explanation
Watercolors are a type of paint that can be mixed with water to create translucent layers of color on paper. You can also call a painting made this way a watercolor. Anyone can paint with watercolors, from toddlers to professional artists. Historians believe that watercolor painting has been around since Paleolithic cave paintings, but it was during the Renaissance that watercolors gained popularity as an artistic medium. It was particularly common for illustrations in books and botanical guides to be made using watercolors into the 19th century, when John James Audubon began his well-known watercolor bird illustrations and field guides.
Vocabulary lists containing watercolor
Visual Arts - Introductory
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Visual Arts - High School
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Art History
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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.
Nonfarmale’s transfer was deemed perfectly done, but discolored varnish was removed, holes and cracks were repaired, and, as is modern practice, restored areas were made congruent with the rest by delicate watercolor cross-hatching.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026
Contemporary battlefield sketches, grand post-war history paintings, elegant portraits of the major military and political figures, along with watercolor illustrations and unobtrusive live-action recreations bring the tale to life.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2025
First, he’ll paint the silver with a special type of quick drying white watercolor paint.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 9, 2025
Inspired by the 1771 watercolor Night view of a current of lava by British-Italian artist Pietro Fabris, Hamilton's concept relied on light and motion to replicate glowing lava and eruptive bursts.
From Science Daily • Nov. 7, 2025
Above, the sky was darkening fast, melting into a fluid watercolor blend of deep blues, oranges, and pinks fractured by the telltale lines left from the Rupture.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
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.
