Meanings
alternative graffito
- uncountableusuallyDrawings or words drawn on a surface in a public place, usually made without authorization.
The underpass is a popular place for graffiti artists.
2 more examples
The city council spends thousands of pounds removing graffiti from public buildings.
The removal of unsightly graffiti on the sides of railway bridges spanning major roads in the North West is to be handed over to National Highways, to speed up the job.
2021 October 20, “Network News: NR and NH tackle graffiti vandalism”, in RAIL, number 942, page 9 - countableusuallyarchaeologyInformal inscriptions, figure drawings, etc., as opposed to official inscriptions.
Synonyms: cave painting, epigraphy
present singular third person graffitis · participle present graffitiing · participle past graffitied · past graffitied · alternative graffito
- transitiveTo mark a surface with such images.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounInformal inscriptions, figure drawings, etc., as opposed to official inscriptions.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna rude decoration inscribed on rocks or walls
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*gerbʰ-
- Proto-Hellenic*grə́pʰō
- Ancient Greekγρᾰ́φω (grắphō)
- Italiangraffire
- Italiangraffito
- Italiangraffiti
- Englishgraffiti
Borrowed from Italian graffiti, from graffito, from graffire, borrowed from Ancient Greek γρᾰ́φω (grắphō, “to write”), from Proto-Hellenic *grə́pʰō, from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ-.
More words from Italian
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan graffiti, pintada
- graffitidrawings on a public surface
- pintadadrawings on a public surface
Chinese Mandarin 塗鴉 /涂鸦, 漆鴉 /漆鸦
- 塗鴉 /涂鸦 (túyā)drawings on a public surface
- 漆鴉 /漆鸦 (qīyā)create graffiti
Danish graffiti
- graffitidrawings on a public surface
Dutch graffiti
- graffitidrawings on a public surface
Esperanto grafitio, murskribaĉo
- grafitiodrawings on a public surface
- murskribaĉodrawings on a public surface
Finnish graffiti, töhrintä
- graffitidrawings on a public surface
- töhrintädrawings on a public surface
- tehdä graffiticreate graffiti
- töhriäcreate graffiti
French graffiti, graff
- graffitidrawings on a public surface
- graffdrawings on a public surface
German Graffito, Graffiti
- Graffitodrawings on a public surface
- Graffitidrawings on a public surface
Hawaiian kahakaha kolohe
- kahakaha kolohedrawings on a public surface
Hungarian falfirka
- falfirkadrawings on a public surface
Icelandic veggjakrot
- veggjakrotdrawings on a public surface
Irish graifítí
- graifítídrawings on a public surface
Italian graffitismo
- graffitismodrawings on a public surface
Japanese 落書き, グラフィティ
- 落書き (rakugaki)drawings on a public surface
- グラフィティ (gurafiti)drawings on a public surface
Korean 그라피티, 그래피티
- 그라피티 (geurapiti)drawings on a public surface
- 그래피티 (geuraepiti)drawings on a public surface
Māori karawhiti
- karawhitidrawings on a public surface
Polish graffiti
- graffitidrawings on a public surface
Portuguese grafite, pichação
- grafitedrawings on a public surface
- pichaçãodrawings on a public surface
- grafitodrawings on a public surface
- grafítidrawings on a public surface
- picharcreate graffiti
- grafitarcreate graffiti
Russian граффи́ти
- граффи́ти (graffíti)drawings on a public surface
Slovak grafit, grafity
- grafitdrawings on a public surface
- grafitydrawings on a public surface
Spanish grafiti, grafitar
- grafitidrawings on a public surface
- grafitarcreate graffiti
Swahili grafiti
- grafitidrawings on a public surface
Swedish graffiti, klotter
- graffitidrawings on a public surface
- klotterdrawings on a public surface
- måla graffiticreate graffiti
- klottracreate graffiti
- bombacreate graffiti
Turkish grafiti, grafiti yapmak
- grafitidrawings on a public surface
- grafiti yapmakcreate graffiti
Ukrainian графі́ті
- графі́ті (hrafíti)drawings on a public surface
Welsh graffiti
- graffitidrawings on a public surface
Yiddish וואַנט־שמירעכצן, גראַפֿיטי
- וואַנט־שמירעכצן (vant-shmirekhtsn)drawings on a public surface
- גראַפֿיטי (grafiti)drawings on a public surface
- וואַנט־קאַטאָוועסן (vant-katovesn)drawings on a public surface
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with graffiti
Cite this entry
graffiti. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/graffiti
“graffiti.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/graffiti. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “graffiti,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/graffiti.
Source: graffiti on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.