tint

noun \ ˈtint \

|Updated on: 10 Aug 2018

Definition of tint

1 a : a usually slight or pale coloration : hue

b : any of various lighter or darker shades of a color : tinge

2 : a variation of a color produced by adding white to it and characterized by a low saturation with relatively high lightness

3 : dye for the hair

4 : a usually slight modifying quality or characteristic : touch

5 : a shaded effect in engraving produced by fine parallel lines close together

6 : a panel of light color serving as background

See tint defined for English-language learners

See tint defined for kids

Examples of tint in a Sentence

a photo with a sepia tint
green with a yellowish tint
She got a red tint at the salon.

Recent Examples of tint from the Web

For this stop, a PCSO sergeant used the darkness of window tint as an excuse to make a traffic stop.

— david j. neal, miamiherald, "They came for a man accused of fathering a 14-year old's baby. They found something more," 3 July 2018
But such solar windows tend to have a reddish or brown tint that architects find unappealing.

— robert f. service, Science | AAAS, "Skyscrapers could soon generate their own power, thanks to see-through solar cells," 28 June 2018
Save for its slight pink tint, the mask is truly transparent.

— devon abelman, Allure, "Glow Recipe Is Launching a Completely Clear Watermelon Sheet Mask in June," 22 May 2018
Its luminous tint in a clear bottle lends the appearance of orange soda.

— josh noel, chicagotribune.com, "Bud Light Orange succeeds — but not as a beer," 22 May 2018
The driver, Michael Melillo, 48, was pulled over near Foxon Road when an officer noticed that the 2001 Mercedes had dark tints on the windows and that a rear window was broken, police said.

— ruth bruno, courant.com, "East Haven Police Stop Car, Find Gun; Three Arrested," 22 May 2018
As expected, Markle showed up to her nuptials in a subtle smokey eye and light, balmy lip tint.

— samantha sasso, refinery29.com, "The Royal Wedding Makeup No One Is Talking About," 21 May 2018
Her silly, unapologetically girly tints amplify the instability.

— david pagel, latimes.com, "Laurie Nye paints her way to Venus. You can join the ride," 16 May 2018
Another way to color food black is to mix up your own black tint, using red, green and blue food coloring.

— amy dewall dadmun, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Delight your guests with a trendy, tasty winter meal," 20 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tint.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of tint

alteration of earlier tinct, from Latin tinctus act of dyeing, from tingere to tinge

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1717

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

tint Synonyms

tint

verb

Definition of tint

tinted; tinting; tints

transitive verb

: to impart or apply a tint to : color

—

tinter

noun

See tint defined for English-language learners

Examples of tint in a Sentence

They tinted the water with blue dye.
if you tint that blue paint with this yellow paint, you should get a nice shade of green

Recent Examples of tint from the Web

Along with her eyebrows, Skye uses one other beauty product every day: Burt’s Bees tinted lip balm.

— blake bakkila, Health.com, "4 Products Emily Skye Uses for Full, Natural Brows," 12 July 2018
Everyone that comes in my house has tinted red arms from swatches and shadows.

— tamara fuentes, Seventeen, "Kylie Jenner and BFF Jordyn Woods Are Living Together," 29 June 2018
In one of Maye’s pictures, a runner is gritting his teeth midstride while, a few feet behind him, the limo creeps along in ominous pursuit, a ghostly white hand visible in the car’s tinted windows.

— martin fritz huber, Outside Online, "The Speed Project: A Crazy, 340-Mile Desert Relay," 21 June 2018
Immediately after the blast, a huge fireball would rise swiftly through the air and begin to condense into a mushroom cloud, tinted red at first, then white.

— Daily Intelligencer, "This Is What a Nuclear Bomb Looks Like," 12 June 2018
The streams tunneling along the ice were tinted a mint blue, a color that results from the sun hitting the water's limestone silt.

— debbi snook, cleveland.com, "Canadian Rockies a towering visual treat by foot -- or bus (photos, video)," 18 Mar. 2018
Coombe’s Winter Glow Cactus Nearly spineless paddle cactus tints purple in winter, throws fuchsia flowers in spring.

— debra lee baldwin, WSJ, "Succulents That Stun in the Snow: Start Planning Now," 9 Mar. 2018
Mr Irwin says that people sometimes view the history of the post-war trading system with rose-tinted glasses.

— The Economist, "A tariffically bad ideaThe looming global trade war," 8 Mar. 2018
According to Elle, the E.L.F. x Christian Siriano collection includes four items perfect for spring: a pale pink tinted lip oil, a bright pink matte lipstick, a vibrant eyeshadow palette, and a hot pink makeup pouch.

— de elizabeth, Teen Vogue, "E.L.F. Cosmetics Launches Christian Siriano Collaboration," 10 Feb. 2018