paintbrush

American

[peynt-bruhsh] / ˈpeɪntˌbrʌʃ /

noun

a brush for applying paint, as one used in painting painting houses or one used in painting painting pictures.
any plant of the genus Castilleja.

paintbrush British

/ ˈpeɪntˌbrʌʃ /

noun

a brush used to apply paint

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of paintbrush

First recorded in 1820–30; paint + brush ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“There’s a bunch of purple paintbrushes,” he said, pointing at flowers that are pretty self-explanatory, I should think.

From Literature

She was in the big studio where she painted, and she was working at her easel, humming and holding a paintbrush with a blue-daubed end in her hand.

From Literature

He turned to the dragon, which was chewing on the end of one of his paintbrushes, and asked, "Now, will he be able to see you, or not?"

From Literature

Olka gestured to my grandmother, who held her paintbrush between her teeth as she scrutinized the canvas.

From Literature

“I’m busy,” I say, sliding a paintbrush along the wood.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023