watercolor
Americannoun
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a pigment for which water and not oil is used as the vehicle.
-
the art or technique of painting with such pigments.
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a painting or design executed in such pigments by this technique.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
See Examples For:
Smitten by Monson de Kansky’s performance, he presented the dancer with a watercolor painting of their characters in the ballet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
“Christ Is Risen” reads the headline on one email included in the lawsuit, which was decorated with a watercolor illustration of an open cave decorated with flowers.
From Salon ● May 25, 2026
Inspired by the 1771 watercolor 'Night view of a current of lava' by British-Italian artist Pietro Fabris, the device was designed to use light and movement to mimic flowing lava and explosive bursts from Vesuvius.
From Science Daily ● May 2, 2026
There was also a tribute to the late Rob Reiner and some misty watercolor memories from Barbra Streisand for the late Robert Redford.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026
As his breathing evened out, his skin started to return to its usual deep brown in patches, like a watercolor shifting around, searching for the right shade and texture.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
With so many eye-catching objects to behold, the watercolors and manuscripts, as refined as they are, can seem overshadowed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
I was drawn to some watercolors there, bought a few cards and spoke with one of the artists.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
For more than 60 years, he hopscotched among media, painting in oils, acrylics and watercolors, drawing, making prints and creating works on fax and copying machines as well as iPads and iPhones.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Whether or not she’s the second coming of him as an artist, she’s more insightful than he ever was insulting watercolors of kittens on TV.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
The scene could have been painted in watercolors, so pale was the green of the grass, so subdued was the blue of the water.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
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.
