body paint

noun

: paint applied to a person's body
Her new outfit, a leopard-skin pants suit, seemed as skintight as Superman's blue-and-red ensemble: every midriff curve curved, every leg muscle flexed … . After a few turns, some observers noticed that the spots were not painted on fabric but skin. Her suit was body paint.Matthew Crowley, Las Vegas Review-Journal, 19 Mar. 1997
Aborigines in white body paint danced and sang traditional songs in Australia's national Parliament on Tuesday in a historic ceremony many hoped would mark a new era of race relations in the country.Rod McGuirk, Associated Press, 12 Feb. 2008
body-paint transitive verb
body-painted; body-painting; body-paints
Halfway through the first quarter, high up in the stands, an undergraduate skinned off his shirt and … a young woman body-painted something unprintable about Harvard onto his shoulder blades. Paul Hendrickson, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 1983
body-painted adjective
… surrounded by their usual assortment of exuberant, body-painted fans. Bill Bryant, Huntsville (Alabama) Times, 3 Mar. 2012
body painting noun
or less commonly body-painting
They wore clothing of finely-tanned skins and adorned themselves with tattooing and body painting. Barbara A. Leitch, A Concise Dictionary of Indian Tribes, 1979

Word History

First Known Use

1883, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of body paint was in 1883

The Ultimate Dictionary Awaits

Expand your vocabulary and dive deeper into language with Merriam-Webster Unabridged.

  1. Expanded definitions
  2. Detailed etymologies
  3. Advanced search tools
  4. All ad-free

Discover what makes Merriam-Webster Unabridged the essential choice for true word lovers.

Start Your Free Trial Now

Dictionary Entries Near body paint

Cite this Entry

“Body paint.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/body%20paint. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!