fine art

noun

1

a

: art (such as painting, sculpture, or music) concerned primarily with the creation of beautiful objects

—usually plural

b

: objects of fine art

2

: an activity requiring a fine skill

Examples of fine art in a Sentence

a collector of fine art

She studies painting in the department of fine arts.

We saw the sculpture at the Museum of Fine Arts.

the fine art of gourmet cooking

Recent Examples on the Web

With 20 works in the Lucas Museum’s collection, Los Angeles artist Kadir Nelson embodies the overlap between popular visual culture and fine art. — Jane Horowitz, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Designers Pei, Chen, Ying, Feng and Xu showed designs pushing the line between fashion and fine art. — Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 9 Sep. 2026

Proving Provenance In the world of fine art, provenance is the process used to verify the chain of ownership tied to the original creation of the artwork. — Stu Sjouwerman, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026

The composition courses would be for seniors, according to Thomas Skobel, the East Aurora High School’s division chair for English and fine arts, while the speech course would be open to juniors and seniors. — Molly Morrow, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1686, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for fine art

• counterpart
• apart
• depart
• flowchart
• forepart
• impart
• pushcart
• rampart
• redstart
• restart
• subpart
• sweetheart

Kids Definition

fine art

noun

: art (as painting, sculpture, or music) concerned mainly with the creation of beautiful objects

—usually used in plural