painter

1 of 3

noun (1)

paint·​er ˈpān-tər 

: one that paints: such as

a

: an artist who paints

b

: one who applies paint especially as an occupation

painter

2 of 3

noun (2)

pain·​ter ˈpān-tər 

: a line used for securing or towing a boat

painter

3 of 3

noun (3)

pain·​ter ˈpān-tər 

: cougar sense 1

Examples of painter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The painter Thomas Gainsborough — a Frick favorite — presides here with female portraits. —Holland Cotter, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2025

In a circle best known for the mixing of poets and painters, perhaps no one was more at its center than Brainard, accomplished in both media. —David S. Wallace, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2025

This natural phenomenon, Professor Logan found, can be evidenced in artworks by some of the island’s most illustrious painters, who depicted its effects, likely unknowingly, on their canvases. —Jennifer Wolcott, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Mar. 2025

Effect of Rain by French impressionist painter, Camille Pissarro, was hanging in the Berlin home of a Jewish woman named Lilly Cassirer. —Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 12 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (2)

Middle English paynter, probably from Middle French dialect (Normandy) pentoir, penteur clothesline, from pendre to hang — more at pendant

Noun (3)

alteration of panther

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

circa 1764, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing painter

• painter's colic

Rhymes for painter

• fainter

Kids Definition

painter

1 of 3 noun

paint·​er ˈpānt-ər 

: one that paints

especially : an artist who paints

painter

2 of 3 noun

pain·​ter

: a line used for attaching or towing a boat

painter

3 of 3 noun

pain·​ter

: cougar

Etymology

Noun

from paint (verb) and -er (noun suffix)

Noun

Middle English paynter "a line used for securing a boat," probably from early French pentoir, penteur "clothesline"

Noun

an altered form of panther