airbrush

1 of 2

noun

air·​brush ˈer-ˌbrəsh How to pronounce airbrush (audio)
: an atomizer for applying by compressed air a fine spray (as of paint or liquid color)

airbrush

2 of 2

verb

airbrushed; airbrushing; airbrushes

transitive verb

: to paint, treat, or alter (as to conceal imperfections) with or as if with an airbrush
airbrush a photograph

Examples of airbrush in a Sentence

Verb That photograph must have been airbrushed.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Look for a petting zoo, pony rides, inflatables, airbrush tattoos, food trucks and music by Jennifer Fletcher & The Reckoning. Antioch Fall Wine Walk: 12-4 p.m. Sept. 23. Annie Alleman, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2023 Alo's patented airbrush fabric lifts and supports the breasts and offers light support for both the studio and the street. Lily Wohlner, Women's Health, 28 July 2023 Your skin will experience a bit of plumping from the airbrush polymers that are infused into the formula, which is a welcome side effect. Alyssa Brascia, Peoplemag, 14 June 2023 His plan was to become a full-time airbrush artist. Wesley Lapointe, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2023 From pencil and airbrush to oil painting and creating digitally in Photoshop, Graef has used just about every kind of tool to illustrate. Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 25 May 2023 Mechanical bull rides and airbrush face painting will be available for $4 each. Norma Cavazos, Dallas News, 4 May 2023 There are a few tattoo booths — not airbrush tattoos, the real thing. Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2023 Armor and blazing-orange sunsets aside, the features in the portrait are too smooth, the imperfections blotted out with a virtual airbrush, sharpness and contrast amped up to unlikely extremes. WIRED, 31 Jan. 2023
Verb
And, as other entities in the fashion world have been airbrushed and transformed over the last five decades, its brown-kraft-paper visage has had no significant face-lifts. Hilary Reid, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2023 It cannot be airbrushed or filtered or otherwise altered. Vanessa Friedman, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2023 With Remini, users’ skin can appear unnaturally smooth and airbrushed, and hands and finer details can be distorted. Paige Hagy, Fortune, 19 July 2023 Democrats are appalled at the effort to airbrush history. Caroline Petrow-Cohen, Dallas News, 31 July 2023 By airbrushing a small circle in the center of each nail, you're left with a beautiful gradient design. Tasha Nicole Smith, ELLE, 26 July 2023 While there are some new details in the telling, the net effect leaves the Smith that people didn’t know, other than those meticulously airbrushed photo spreads, largely untouched. Brian Lowry, CNN, 16 May 2023 This multi-peptide serum is packed with a variety of them, all with the goal of giving skin that airbrushed glow. Neha Tandon, womenshealthmag.com, 1 May 2023 The mural was painted using airbrushing techniques with gold metal flakes, traditionally used to paint lowrider cars. Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Apr. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'airbrush.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1884, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1907, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of airbrush was in 1884

Dictionary Entries Near airbrush

Cite this Entry

“Airbrush.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/airbrush. Accessed 3 Oct. 2023.

Kids Definition

airbrush

noun
air·​brush
ˈa(ə)r-ˌbrəsh,
ˈe(ə)r-
: a device that uses compressed air to apply a liquid (as paint or a protective coating) as a fine spray
airbrush verb

More from Merriam-Webster on airbrush

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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