paint

plural paints

1. countableuncountableA substance that is applied as a liquid or paste, and dries into a solid coating that protects or adds colour to an object or surface to which it has been applied.

   fresh coat of paint

2. countablein pluraluncountableA set of containers or blocks of paint of different colors/colours, used for painting pictures.

   René went back into the kitchen and put a pot of coffee on, got out his paints and started on a new painting. He felt inspired.

   2007, Jesse Guthrie, Catherine's Addiction, page 116

3. countableslanguncountableball gamesThe free-throw lane, construed with the.

   The Nimrods are strong on the outside, but not very good in the paint.

   3 more examples

   Early on it was the Bulldogs who were clearly the aggressors, playing hard in the paint and getting baskets with muscle more than with their shooting prowess.

   2013 December 12, “JV Dogs suffer first loss, 47-41”, in Martinez (California) News-Gazette

   Isaiah Thomas is very clever, very crafty getting to the paint and finishing in the paint.

   2016 April 20, “Hawks not giving Celtics anything in the paint”, in Comcast SportsNet New England

   In Game 3, they re-focused on protecting the paint and transition defense. The Cavs scored 106 points in the paint in the first two games and just 20 in Game 3.

   2016 May 22, “Renewed defensive strategy has Raptors alive in conference finals”, in USA TODAY

4. slanguncountablegamesPaintballs.

   I am running low on paint for my marker.

5. countableslanguncountablecard gamesSynonym of face card (king, queen, or jack).

   Synonyms: face card

6. attributivecountableuncountablecomputingGraphics drawn using an input device, not scanned or generated.

   It combines traditional paint capabilities with photograph enhancement features.

   1993, Emil Ihrig, CorelDRAW! 4 made easy

   2 more examples

   Computer paint software operates similarly but adds features that are delightfully familiar and useful to artists trained in traditional graphics materials.

   1998, Kit Laybourne, The animation book: a complete guide to animated filmmaking

   If using a paint package, you must specify the color before you draw the line or shape.

   2001, Maureen Sprankle, Problem Solving for Information Processing

7. uncountableMakeup.

   They were as plain and homely as a table-top dancer when the rains had wiped the paint and powder from her face.

   2012, Caleb Pirtle, Shelly Marshall, Other Voices, Other Towns: The Traveler's Story, →ISBN

8. slanguncountableTattoo work.

   Synonyms: ink

9. countabledateduncountableAny substance fixed with latex to harden it.
10. countableuncountableThe appearance of an object on a radar screen.

    Smaller target paints would also be preferred to those displayed on the existing DFTI.

    1973, International Conference on Radar--Present and Future, 23-25 October, 1973, page 203

present singular third person paints · participle present painting · participle past painted · past painted

1. transitiveTo apply paint to.

   I painted the bathroom walls light blue, and I painted the ceiling white.

   2 more examples

   The half-dozen pieces […] were painted white and carved with festoons of flowers, birds and cupids. To display them the walls had been tinted a vivid blue which had now faded, but the carpet, which had evidently been stored and recently relaid, retained its original turquoise.

   1963, Margery Allingham, chapter I, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC

   I see a red door and I want it painted black / No colors anymore, I want them to turn black / I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes / I have to turn my head until my darkness goes / I see a line of cars and they're all painted black / With flowers and my love both never to come back

   1966, “Paint It Black”, performed by The Rolling Stones

2. transitiveTo apply in the manner that paint is applied.
3. transitivemedicineTo apply with a brush in order to treat some body part.
4. transitiveTo cover (something) with spots of colour, like paint.

   not painted with the crimson spots of blood

   c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]

   1 more example

   Cuckoo buds of yellow hue / Do paint the meadows with delight.

   c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)

5. transitiveTo create (an image) with paints.

   to paint a portrait or a landscape

6. intransitiveTo practise the art of painting pictures.

   I've been painting since I was a young child.

7. transitivecomputingTo draw an element in a graphical user interface.

   Sent to a minimized window when the icon's background must be filled before it is painted.

   1991, Ernest R Tello, Object-oriented Programming for Windows

8. figurativelytransitiveTo depict or portray.

   She sued the author of the biography, claiming it painted her as a duplicitous fraud.

   3 more examples

   Disloyal? / The word is too good to paint out her wickedness.

   1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]

   VVhether the Charmer ſinner it, or ſaint it, / VVhen Folly grovvs romantic, vve muſt paint it.

   1735, Alexander Pope, “Epistle 2”, in The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope, volume II, London: […] J. Wright, for Lawton Gilliver […], →OCLC, page 62, lines 15–16

   During defense openings, Bankman-Fried’s lawyer painted him as a “nerd” who tried to do the right thing but was overwhelmed with a fast-growing company.

   2023 October 5, Victoria Bekiempis, “FTX co-founder testifies he committed crimes with Sam Bankman-Fried”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

9. intransitiveTo color one's face by way of beautifying it.

   Let her paint an inch thick.

   c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]

10. slangtransitiveaeronauticsTo detect (something) with radar.

    "We'll paint the target for the flyboys," the JTAC said.

    1 more example

    The Albuquerque radar “painted” just one object whenever the light was on, none when it was off.

    2023, J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience: Evidence Behind Close Encounters, Project Blue Book, and the Search for Answers, Red Wheel/Weiser, →ISBN, page 73

11. slangtransitiveTo defecate or soil with faeces during anal sex.

plural Paints

1. A paint horse.

1. A surname