I. paint 1 S2 W2 /peɪnt/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ paint , ↑ painter , ↑ painting , repaint; verb : ↑ paint , repaint; adjective : ↑ painterly ]
1 . a liquid that you put on a surface, using a brush to make the surface a particular colour:
a can of blue paint
Wet paint (=used as a warning on signs when something has just been painted)
The whole house could do with a fresh coat of paint.
peeling/flaking paint (=old paint that is starting to come off the surface)
All this room needs is a lick of paint (=paint used to make a place more attractive) .
2 .
paints tubes or dry blocks of a coloured substance, used for painting pictures:
acrylic and oil paints
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ phrases
▪ a can/tin/pot of paint
He had spilt a can of paint on the floor.
▪ a tube of paint
There was a painting on one of the easels and a table with his brushes and tubes of paint.
▪ a layer of paint
They removed the old layers of paint.
▪ a coat of paint (=a layer of paint that is put on something)
Walls usually need at least two coats of paint.
▪ a lick of paint informal (=a layer of paint used to make something more attractive)
All she needed to do to the kitchen was give it a lick of paint.
■ adjectives
▪ white/red/blue etc
I decided to use white paint throughout the house.
▪ wet
Careful – the paint is still wet.
▪ dry
Remove the tape when the paint is dry.
▪ fresh (=new - used especially about the smell of new paint)
The place smelled of fresh paint and new carpets.
▪ peeling/flaking paint (=starting to come off a surface because it is old)
She lived in a gloomy old building with peeling paint on the walls.
■ verbs
▪ put paint on something
Don’t put the paint on too thick.
▪ apply paint formal
Clean the surface before applying the paint with a brush or roller.
▪ spray paint (=send paint out from a container in a stream of very small drops)
Vandals had sprayed paint all over the walls.
▪ strip paint (=remove all the paint from a surface)
We decided to strip the paint off the doors.
▪ scrape off/away paint (=take most of the paint off a surface using a tool)
Scrape off any loose or flaking paint and rub the surface with sandpaper.
▪ paint dries
Wait for the paint to dry.
▪ paint peels/flakes
The paint was starting to peel off the window frame.
II. paint 2 S2 W3 BrE AmE verb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ paint , ↑ painter , ↑ painting , repaint; verb : ↑ paint , repaint; adjective : ↑ painterly ]
[ Date: 1100-1200 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: peint , past participle of peindre 'to paint' , from Latin pingere ]
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to put paint on a surface:
The ceiling needs painting.
brightly painted houses
paint something (in) blue/red/green etc
We painted the door blue.
Paint the walls in a contrasting colour.
The living room was painted in pastel shades of pink and blue.
2 . [intransitive and transitive] to make a picture, design etc using paint:
A white cross was painted on the door.
Turner is famous for painting landscapes.
paint in oils/watercolours etc (=paint using a particular type of paint)
He paints mainly in acrylics.
3 . [transitive] to put a coloured substance on part of your face or body to make it different or more attractive:
The children’s faces were painted to look like animals.
She’d painted her toenails with red nail polish.
4 . [transitive] to describe someone or something in a particular way
paint somebody/something as something
She’s often been painted as a tough businesswoman.
paint a grim/rosy/gloomy picture of somebody/something
Dickens painted a grim picture of Victorian life.
The article painted him in a bad light (=described him in a way that made him seem bad) .
5 . paint the town (red) informal to go out to bars, clubs etc to enjoy yourself
⇨ not be as black as you are painted at ↑ black 1 (10)
paint something ↔ out phrasal verb
to cover part of a picture or sign with paint so that it can no longer be seen:
The name of the firm had been partially painted out.
paint over something phrasal verb
to cover a picture or surface with new paint:
Much of the original decoration was painted over.