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painting

American  
[peyn-ting] / ˈpeɪn tɪŋ /

noun

  1. a picture or design executed in paints.

  2. the act, art, or work of a person who paints.

  3. the works of art painted painted in a particular manner, place, or period.

    a book on Flemish painting.

  4. an instance of covering a surface with paint.

painting British  
/ ˈpeɪntɪŋ /

noun

  1. the art or process of applying paints to a surface such as canvas, to make a picture or other artistic composition

  2. a composition or picture made in this way

  3. the act of applying paint to a surface with a brush

"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

Etymology

Origin of painting

Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; paint, -ing 1

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.

“There’s people who are like ‘Cudi painting now?

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

De Zerbi is accused of downplaying the allegations and painting Greenwood as a victim.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

Pontormo wasn’t painting in a vacuum, and his decision to shake up artistic conventions may also reflect the turbulent politics, local and liturgical, of his times.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

Highlights include the first painting he completed entirely on his own, as well as tapestries designed for the Sistine Chapel.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

The boy looked back at the painting, feeling a strange shiver.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

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.