oil painting

noun

1

a

: the act or art of painting in oil colors

b

: a picture painted in oils

2

: painting that uses pigments originally ground in oil

Synonyms of oil painting

• painting
• canvas

Examples of oil painting in a Sentence

He studied oil painting in college.

A large oil painting hangs above the mantel.

Recent Examples on the Web

On the wall above the bicycle hung a framed oil painting of the sorcerer Merlin and the knight Lancelot done by the Scotsman James Archer in the late nineteenth century. — Literary Hub, 22 July 2026

Collectors won’t want to miss The Adobe Fine Art, an award-winning 10,000-foot space filled with oil paintings of cowboys and gunslingers, fiber sculptures of Native American warriors, traditional Pueblo pottery, and much more. — Allison Savage Bates, Denver Post, 19 July 2026

The lobbies are lousy with academic-chic décor like books bought by the yard, oil paintings of dead white men, and displays of university memorabilia. — Ryan Craig, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026

The 68 works — including 10 oil paintings by Kahlo — went on display at the Museum of Modern Art in February, the first public showing in Mexico in almost two decades. — Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1699, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Rhymes for oil painting

• acquainting
• repainting
• fainting
• tainting

Kids Definition

oil painting

noun

: a painting done with oil paints