paint

[peynt] /peɪnt/

noun

a substance composed of solid coloring matter suspended in a liquid medium and applied as a protective or decorative coating to various surfaces, or to canvas or other materials in producing a work of art.

an application of this.

the dried surface pigment:

Don't scuff the paint.

the solid coloring matter alone; pigment.

facial cosmetics, especially lipstick, rouge, etc., designed to heighten natural color.

Chiefly Western U.S. a pied, calico, or spotted horse or pony; pinto.

verb (used with object)

to coat, cover, or decorate (something) with paint:

to paint a fence.

to produce (a picture, design, etc.) in paint:

to paint a portrait.

to represent in paint, as in oils, tempera, or watercolor:

to paint an actress as the Muse of tragedy.

10.

to depict as if by painting; describe vividly in words:

The ads painted the resort as a winter wonderland.

11.

to color by or as if by painting:

Sunset painted the clouds pink.

12.

to apply a substance to, as a liquid medicine or a cosmetic:

to paint a cut with iodine.

verb (used without object)

13.

to coat or cover anything with paint.

14.

to engage in painting as an art:

She has begun to paint in her spare time.

15.

to put on or use facial cosmetics.

Idioms

16.

paint the town red, Informal. to celebrate boisterously, especially by making a round of stops at bars and nightclubs.

Also, paint the town.

Origin

1200-50; Middle English peinten (v.) < Old French peint, past participle of peindre < Latin pingere to paint; see picture

Related forms

paintable, adjective

paintless, adjective

outpaint, verb (used with object)

Examples from the web for paint

Tub refinishing in situ is probably best done by a professional who has all the right equipment to ventilate and apply the paint.
Then, have them form river channels and coat with blue enamel paint and color the land with tempera paint.
From conception to buzz, from three-way spring to soft-touch paint: inside the design of a multimedia communications gadget.
Popular accounts of the turn of the last millennium paint a world gone mad.
The painting was done with a palette knife-its thick, crude slabs of paint suggesting the handiwork of a mason or plasterer.
When the machinery keeping it cool malfunctions, however, the angry green giant thaws and decides to paint the town red.
He considered, discarded and pared down ideas for months before he squeezed even a drop of paint onto his palette.
In the old days, an artist would paint a picture, get it framed and send it out into the world.
In this room, peeling beige paint exposed dingy walls.
Families of means commissioned artists to paint portraits of loved ones for the eventual adornment of their mummies.

British Dictionary definitions for paint

paint

/peɪnt/

noun

a substance used for decorating or protecting a surface, esp a mixture consisting of a solid pigment suspended in a liquid, that when applied to a surface dries to form a hard coating

a dry film of paint on a surface

the solid pigment of a paint before it is suspended in liquid

(informal) face make-up, such as rouge

short for greasepaint

verb

to make (a picture) of (a figure, landscape, etc) with paint applied to a surface such as canvas

to coat (a surface) with paint, as in decorating

(transitive) to apply (liquid) onto (a surface): her mother painted the cut with antiseptic

(transitive) to apply make-up onto (the face, lips, etc)

10.

(transitive) to describe vividly in words

11.

(informal) paint the town red, to celebrate uninhibitedly; go on a spree

Derived Forms

painty, adjective

Word Origin

C13: from Old French peint painted, from peindre to paint, from Latin pingere to paint, adorn

Word Origin and History for paint

early 13c., "represent in painting or drawing, portray;" early 14c., "paint the surface of, color, stain;" from Old French peintier "to paint," from peint, past participle of peindre "to paint," from Latin pingere "to paint, represent in a picture, stain; embroider, tattoo," from PIE root *peig-/*peik- "to cut" (cf. Sanskrit pimsati "hews out, cuts, carves, adorns," Old Church Slavonic pila "file, saw," Lithuanian pela "file"). Sense evolution between PIE and Latin was, presumably, from "decorate with cut marks" to "decorate" to "decorate with color." Cf. Sanskrit pingah "reddish," pesalah "adorned, decorated, lovely," Old Church Slavonic pegu "variegated;" Greek poikilos "variegated;" Old High German fehjan "to adorn;" Old Church Slavonic pisati, Lithuanian piesiu "to write." Probably also representing the "cutting" branch of the family is Old English feol (see file (n.)).

To paint the town (red) "go on a spree" first recorded 1884; to paint (someone or something) black "represent it as wicked or evil" is from 1590s. Adjective paint-by-numbers "simple" is attested by 1970; the art-for-beginners kits themselves date to c.1953.

late 13c. (in compounds), "that with which something is painted," from paint (v.). Of rouge, make-up, etc., from 1650s. Paint brush attested from 1827.

paint in Medicine

paint (pānt)
n.
A solution or suspension of one or more medicaments applied to the skin with a brush or large applicator. v. paint·ed, paint·ing, paints
To apply medicine to; swab.

Slang definitions & phrases for paint

paint

noun

(also paint cards) Playing cards, esp picture cards (1931+)

Related Terms

red paint, war paint

paint in the Bible

Jezebel "painted her face" (2 Kings 9:30); and the practice of painting the face and the eyes seems to have been common (Jer. 4:30; Ezek. 23:40). An allusion to this practice is found in the name of Job's daughter (42:14) Kerenhappuch (q.v.). Paintings in the modern sense of the word were unknown to the ancient Jews.