noun

paint

paynt

noun

A liquid or paste that is spread onto a surface and dries into a solid, coloured coating.

"We need another coat of paint on the fence."

"The paint hadn't fully dried before the rain started."

A set of paints or paint colours used for painting pictures.

"The child was given a box of paints for her birthday."

In basketball, informal name for the free-throw lane area (marked with paint on the court).

"He scored most of his points in the paint."

verb

To apply paint to a surface.

"They painted the bedroom a soft blue."

"He's painting the fence this weekend."

To create a picture using paints.

"She paints landscapes in her spare time."

To describe or portray something vividly, especially in words.

"The report paints a grim picture of the local economy."

How to Use Paint

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishThe coloured coating substance itself, or the act of applying it (literally or, figuratively, describing something in vivid terms).

Common mistake

Don't confuse "paint a picture" (literal) with the idiom "paint a picture of" meaning to describe something vividly.

Common pairings

a coat of paint paint a picture wet paint paint the town

painted past tense, paints plural, Paints plural, paints singular

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We need another coat of _____ on the fence.

From Middle English peynten, borrowed via Old French from Latin pingere, "to paint," the same root that gives us "picture" and "pigment."

saint faint taint quaint repaint acquaint complaint restraint constraint