Library / English Dictionary

PAINT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A substance used as a coating to protect or decorate a surface (especially a mixture of pigment suspended in a liquid); dries to form a hard coating

Example:

artists use 'paint' and 'pigment' interchangeably

Synonyms:

paint; pigment

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("paint" is a kind of...):

color; coloring material; colour; colouring material (any material used for its color)

coat; coating (a thin layer covering something)

Meronyms (substance of "paint"):

pigment (dry coloring material (especially a powder to be mixed with a liquid to produce paint, etc.))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "paint"):

acrylic; acrylic paint (used especially by artists)

antifouling paint (a paint used to protect against the accumulation of barnacles etc. on underwater surfaces)

coat of paint (a layer of paint covering something else)

distemper (paint made by mixing the pigments with water and a binder)

enamel (a paint that dries to a hard glossy finish)

encaustic (a paint consisting of pigment mixed with melted beeswax; it is fixed with heat after application)

finger paint; fingerpaint (paint that has the consistency of jelly)

house paint; housepaint (paint used to cover the exterior woodwork of a house)

oil paint (paint in which a drying oil is the vehicle)

semigloss (a paint that dries with a finish between glossy and flat)

spray paint (paint applied with a spray gun)

water-base paint (paint in which water is used as the vehicle)

Derivation:

paint (apply paint to; coat with paint)

paint (apply a liquid to; e.g., paint the gutters with linseed oil)

paint (make a painting of)

paint (make a painting)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Makeup consisting of a pink or red powder applied to the cheeks

Synonyms:

blusher; paint; rouge

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("paint" is a kind of...):

make-up; makeup; war paint (cosmetics applied to the face to improve or change your appearance)

Sense 3

Meaning:

(basketball) a space (including the foul line) in front of the basket at each end of a basketball court; usually painted a different color from the rest of the court

Example:

he dominates play in the paint

Synonyms:

key; paint

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Hypernyms ("paint" is a kind of...):

space (an area reserved for some particular purpose)

Meronyms (parts of "paint"):

foul line (a line from which basketball players take penalty shots)

Domain category:

basketball; basketball game; hoops (a game played on a court by two opposing teams of 5 players; points are scored by throwing the ball through an elevated horizontal hoop)

Holonyms ("paint" is a part of...):

basketball court (the court on which basketball is played)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Apply paint to; coat with paint

Example:

We painted the rooms yellow

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "paint" is one way to...):

coat; surface (put a coat on; cover the surface of; furnish with a surface)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "paint"):

ground; prime; undercoat (cover with a primer; apply a primer to)

airbrush (paint with an airbrush)

repaint (paint again)

grain (paint (a surface) to make it look like stone or wood)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

They want to paint the doors

Derivation:

paint (a substance used as a coating to protect or decorate a surface (especially a mixture of pigment suspended in a liquid); dries to form a hard coating)

painter (a worker who is employed to cover objects with paint)

painting (the occupation of a house painter)

painting (the act of applying paint to a surface)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Apply a liquid to; e.g., paint the gutters with linseed oil

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "paint" is one way to...):

cover (provide with a covering or cause to be covered)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Sentence example:

The men paint the boat

Derivation:

painting (the act of applying paint to a surface)

paint (a substance used as a coating to protect or decorate a surface (especially a mixture of pigment suspended in a liquid); dries to form a hard coating)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Make a painting of

Example:

He painted his mistress many times

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "paint" is one way to...):

interpret; represent (create an image or likeness of)

Domain category:

art; artistic creation; artistic production (the creation of beautiful or significant things)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "paint"):

repaint (paint again)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

Sam cannot paint Sue

Derivation:

paint (a substance used as a coating to protect or decorate a surface (especially a mixture of pigment suspended in a liquid); dries to form a hard coating)

painter (an artist who paints)

painting (creating a picture with paints)

painting (graphic art consisting of an artistic composition made by applying paints to a surface)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Make a painting

Example:

He painted a painting of the garden

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "paint" is one way to...):

create (pursue a creative activity; be engaged in a creative activity)

Domain category:

art; artistic creation; artistic production (the creation of beautiful or significant things)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "paint"):

finger-paint (apply colors with one's fingers)

stipple (apply (paint) in small dots or strokes)

bodypaint (apply paint to a body)

fresco (paint onto wet plaster on a wall)

distemper (paint with distemper)

charge (place a heraldic bearing on)

fill in; shade (represent the effect of shade or shadow on)

stipple (make by small short touches that together produce an even or softly graded shadow, as in paint or ink)

watercolor; watercolour (paint with watercolors)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue paint

Derivation:

paint (a substance used as a coating to protect or decorate a surface (especially a mixture of pigment suspended in a liquid); dries to form a hard coating)

painter (an artist who paints)

painting (creating a picture with paints)

painting (graphic art consisting of an artistic composition made by applying paints to a surface)

Credits

 Context examples: 

You can renovate your kitchen or paint your bedroom a soothing shade of blue.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

These patterns, called 'lunar swirls,' appear almost painted on the surface of the moon.

(NASA Research Gives New Insights into How the Moon Got 'Inked', NASA)

You're a lad, you are, but you're as smart as paint.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

"Look here," said he, unfolding a parcel in his hand, and displaying a small miniature painting, "do you know who that is?"

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

How could you think so much of a smear of pigments, when there was such a picture painted by the good God himself in the very room with you?

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

You paint too accurately for mistake.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

Be happy, my dear Victor, replied Elizabeth; there is, I hope, nothing to distress you; and be assured that if a lively joy is not painted in my face, my heart is contented.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

This substance is used in printing inks, paints and to color vinyl, rubber and paper.

(Lead Chromate, NCI Thesaurus)

Lead used to be in paint; older houses may still have lead paint.

(Lead Poisoning, Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry)

I viewed the town on my left hand, which looked like the painted scene of a city in a theatre.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)