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

The open-air art show brings together more than 150 local and regional fine artists with works ranging from watercolor, oils, mixed media and photography to glasswork, woodworking, jewelry, pottery and sculpture. —Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 June 2025

Scholars who weren’t alive for the 1793 showing at the Royal Academy mistook the setting for Rochester Castle (which Turner also painted that same year) and assumed the medium was watercolor. —Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 June 2025

Several of the watercolors turn out to be composite images constructed in part from bits of his specimens. —Jonathon Keats, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025

But as institutional desires changed, the resulting watercolors, drawings, and photos piled up in the family home. —Dominique Soguel, Christian Science Monitor, 28 May 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