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paint

Syllabification: (paint)
Pronunciation: /pānt/
Translate paint | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of paint

noun

  • 1a colored substance that is spread over a surface and dries to leave a thin decorative or protective coating:a can of paint the paint has been applied to the surface with a palette knife
  • an act of covering something with paint:it looked in need of a good paint
  • informal cosmetic makeup:one has false curls, another too much paint
  • Basketball the rectangular area marked near the basket at each end of the court; the foul lane:the two players jostled in the paint
  • Computing the function or capability of producing graphics, especially those that mimic the effect of real paint: [as modifier]:a paint program
  • 2North American a piebald horse: [as modifier]:a paint mare

verb

[with object]
  • 1cover the surface of (something) with paint, as decoration or protection:the walls hadn’t been painted for years [with object and complement]:the ceiling was painted dark gray (as adjective with submodifier painted)a brightly painted trailer
  • apply cosmetics to (the face or skin):she couldn’t have been more than fourteen but her face was thickly painted
  • apply (a liquid) to a surface with a brush.
  • (paint something out) efface something with paint:the markings on the plane were hurriedly painted out
  • Computing create (a graphic or screen display) using a paint program.
  • display a mark representing (an aircraft or vehicle) on a radar screen.
  • 2depict (someone or something) or produce (a picture) with paint:I painted a woman sitting next to a table lamp Marr is a self-taught artist who paints portraits
  • give a description of (someone or something):I’m painted as some nut case living in the woods

Phrases

like watching paint dry

(of an activity or experience) extremely boring.

paint a picture of

describe (someone or something) in a particular way:the president painted a grim picture of life in the next century

paint oneself into a corner

leave oneself no means of escape or room to maneuver.

paint the town (red)

informal go out and enjoy oneself flamboyantly.

Derivatives

paintable

adjective

painty

adjective (paintier, paintiest)

Origin:

Middle English: from peint 'painted', past participle of Old French peindre, from Latin pingere 'to paint'

paint in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of paint in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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