From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpaintpaint1 /peɪnt/ ●●● S2 W2 noun [uncountable] 1 
DHTBa 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 → paintsCOLLOCATIONSphrasesa can/tin/pot of paintHe had spilt a can of paint on the floor.a tube of paintThere was a painting on one of the easels and a table with his brushes and tubes of paint.a layer of paintThey 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.adjectiveswhite/red/blue etcI decided to use white paint throughout the house.wetCareful – the paint is still wet.dryRemove 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.verbsput paint on somethingDon’t put the paint on too thick.apply paint formalClean 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 driesWait for the paint to dry.paint peels/flakesThe paint was starting to peel off the window frame.
DHTBa 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 → paintsCOLLOCATIONSphrasesa can/tin/pot of paintHe had spilt a can of paint on the floor.a tube of paintThere was a painting on one of the easels and a table with his brushes and tubes of paint.a layer of paintThey 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.adjectiveswhite/red/blue etcI decided to use white paint throughout the house.wetCareful – the paint is still wet.dryRemove 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.verbsput paint on somethingDon’t put the paint on too thick.apply paint formalClean 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 driesWait for the paint to dry.paint peels/flakesThe paint was starting to peel off the window frame. Examples from the Corpus
paint• a painting class• I'm not very good at painting.• The use of Colour Index Generic Names, enables us to know which pigments are being used in each paint.• The kit is sold complete apart from paint, with the machining work carried out by Rotorway.• In recent years, lead levels have fallen as regulations have curbed lead in paint, gas and other products.• But she could find no paint.• Curious faces turned in her direction, faces some plain some pretty but all innocent of paint and powder.• The state Air Resources Board can not ban spray paint.• Manufacturers of the device said it would add about 25 cents to the cost of a can of spray paint.• I holders cutters around nosed pliers a medium grade sandpaper, silver spray paint.• There was an old iron bed, with rust showing through the white paint.a lick of paint• Rooms have recently had a lick of paint, but nothing too drastic, making this an unbeatable central London bargain.• Julie Mills moved into her Edwardian town house in London expecting to just give it a lick of paint.paintpaint2 ●●● S2 W3 verb 1 [intransitive, transitive]DHTB to put paint on a surface The ceiling needs painting. brightly painted housespaint 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, 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]DCB 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 DESCRIBE[transitive] to describe someone or something in a particular waypaint 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) → not be as black as you are painted at black1(10) → paint something ↔ out → paint over something→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
paint• Don't wear that shirt when you're painting.• It was easily sixty feet high, and painted a flat silver from its top to its base.• I'm going to paint a picture of the church.• They are painted as having received too much government.• Her lips and fingernails were painted bright red.• The exhibition focuses on the urban pictures painted by Camille Pissarro in the last decade of his career.• The pictures in Paul Gunn's exhibition were all landscapes, most beautifully painted in oils.• Anna usually paints in the afternoons.• When André Warnod came home on leave he asked him politely whether he would like to have his portrait painted in uniform.• He is going to paint my portrait.• Yes, the recent big paintings are painted quite thinly.• My neighbor painted that picture.• Next day the raftbuilders began the task of painting the bamboos, and the results were dramatic.• I'm going to paint the bathroom tomorrow.• We really need to paint the bedroom.• What colour did you paint the doors?• Geraint was sitting on the beach, painting the seagulls and the fishing boats.• Sarah painted the table blue.• All the children had painted their faces.• The walls were painted tomato red, with matching red drapes.• Walls are painted white drifting to dove gray.• Background painted with 3030 B70G, Collector, matt emulsion from the Definitions range by Dulux, £15.49/2.5 litres.paint something (in) blue/red/green etc• Window frames painted a vermilion red and decorated with colored glass were polished over and over.• It was painted a fiery red and had huge windows.• He lay there on the bed looking up at the ceiling painted bright blue and spotted with adhesive stars and planets.• It took up half a block of Tollemarche Avenue and was gaily painted in red and white.• Ribbons of trees along now-dry creeks paint creases of green between charred hills.• Our door is painted a bright green colour with numerous messages using inappropriate language and phrases covering its exterior.• Using a paint brush paint blue eyes and whiskers on to the rabbit's face and pink ears and a nose.• The churches are painted an earthy red, with red domes and cupolas, and thick red velvet curtains decorate the insides.paint in oils/watercolours etc• The pictures in Paul Gunn's exhibition were all landscapes, most beautifully painted in oils.paint somebody/something as something• Her lawyers paint her as an innocent victim.Origin paint2 (1100-1200) Old French peint, past participle of peindre “to paint”, from Latin pingere 