watercolor

noun

wa·​ter·​col·​or ˈwȯ-tər-ˌkə-lər 

ˈwä-

1

: a paint of which the liquid is a water dispersion of the binding material (such as glue, casein, or gum)

2

: the art or method of painting with watercolors

3

: a picture or design executed in watercolors

watercolor adjective

watercolorist

ˈwȯ-tər-ˌkə-lə-rist 

ˈwä-

noun

Examples of watercolor in a Sentence

a landscape done in watercolor

He only works in watercolors.

We bought a watercolor of the shore.

Recent Examples on the Web

These had begun as her son’s watercolor paintings, and Rosas had slowly added her own layers of embroidery. —Hua Hsu, New Yorker, 13 Dec. 2025

Each piece is stabilized by Verona marble stops and is carefully hand-painted, first with a brush and then by cloth, creating a delicate watercolor effect that renders each screen as one-of-a-kind. —Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 11 Dec. 2025

The other, by the ceramic artist Katie Stout, is floored in a chunky mosaic and walled in her monstrous watercolors of floaty ladies. —Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 11 Dec. 2025

Hence my recent obsession with watercolor. —Sam Woodward, USA Today, 5 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1596, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for watercolor

• multicolor
• technicolor
• unicolor
• versicolor
• bicolor
• concolor
• discolor
• tricolor
• color
• colour
• culler
• duller

Kids Definition

watercolor

noun

wa·​ter·​col·​or ˈwȯt-ər-ˌkəl-ər 

ˈwät-

1

: a paint whose liquid part is water

2

: a picture painted with watercolor

3

: the art of painting with watercolor

watercolorist

-ˌkəl-ə-rəst 

noun