paint

paint

I

paint¹ S2 W2 /peɪnt/ noun [uncountable]
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

paint² S2 W3 verb1. [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 black¹(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.