paint

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
paint/peɪnt/

▶noun

• 1 a coloured substance which is spread over a surface and dries to leave a thin decorative or protective coating.

  ■ an act of painting.

• 2 informal cosmetic make-up.

• 3 N. Amer. a piebald horse.

• 4 Basketball a rectangular area marked near the basket at each end of a court.

▶verb

• 1 apply paint to.

  ■ apply (a liquid) to a surface with a brush.

  ■ (paint something out) efface something with paint.

• 2 depict or produce with paint.

  ■ give a description of (something).

• 3 display a mark representing (an aircraft or vehicle) on a radar screen.

– phrases
be like watching paint dry be extremely boring.
paint oneself into a corner leave oneself no means of escape or room to manoeuvre.
paint the town red go out and enjoy oneself in a lively way.

– derivatives
paintable adjective,
painty adjective.

– origin ME: from peint ‘painted’, past part. of OFr. peindre, from L. pingere ‘to paint’.