Definition of graffito
graffiti
play \grə-ˈfē-(ˌ)tē, gra-, grä-\: an inscription or drawing made on some public surface (such as a rock or wall); also : a message or slogan written as or as if as a graffito
From the M-W Editors
Recent Examples of graffito from the Web
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Miami Beach police issued policy changes to their use of Tasers in late 2015, after the August 2013 Taser death of a teenage graffiti artist who subsequently died of heart failure.
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The graffiti was discovered early Wednesday morning and then covered by property management.
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Last week Mathers was given the choice of serving 45 days in jail or 30 days of community service removing graffiti around Los Angeles.
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LeBron James was the victim of an apparent hate crime Wednesday morning when a racial slur was written in graffiti on the front gate of his L.A. home, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed Wednesday.
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And, to paraphrase the graffiti on the building that housed Zoe Barnes’ apartment in downtown Baltimore, art does not live here anymore.
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Someone already has been inside the library and scribbled graffiti above shelves still lined with books.
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Bring your own chairs, blankets and picnic gear and join an event that this year features vendors, graffiti artists and more.
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But most especially by the forefathers of Hip-Hop: Grandmaster Flash, Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Caz, Kurtis Blow, Raheim and all the b-boys, b-girls, graffiti-writers, MC’s and DJ’s that made this story possible.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'graffito'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Any casual writing or design marked on a wall is a graffito. Graffiti (the plural of graffito) have been made throughout history; they are found in abundance on the monuments of ancient Egypt. Technically the term applies to a design scratched through a layer of paint or plaster, but its meaning is extended to other markings. Graffiti produced with spray paint became notorious in New York City in the 1970s and have appeared in cities all over the US and Europe. The 20th-century preoccupation with manifestations of the subconscious stimulated this form of expression and produced a vogue for “graffiti art.” Graffiti are sometimes considered a form of folk art.
Origin and Etymology of graffito
Italian, incised inscription, from graffiare to scratch, probably from grafio stylus, from Latin graphium
Learn More about graffito
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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about graffito
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