Definition

1. Noun:
   • A type of paint: A specific kind of paint where the pigment (color) is suspended in a drying oil, typically linseed oil. This oil acts as the vehicle (binding medium) that holds the pigment together and adheres it to a surface as it dries through oxidation.

Usage

• Noun:
  • Oil paint is favored by many artists for its rich colors and slow drying time, which allows for blending.
  • Cleaning brushes used with oil paint requires a solvent like turpentine.
  • The portrait was created using traditional oil paint on canvas.

Advanced Usage

• "To work in oil paint": To use oil paints as one's primary artistic medium.
  • The Renaissance master was known to work almost exclusively in oil paint.
• The term is often used in contrast to other paint types (e.g., watercolor, acrylic paint).

Variants and Related Words

• Oil painting (n): The art or process of painting with oil paints, or a finished picture painted in oils.
  • She took a class in oil painting.
• Oils (n, informal): A common shortened form referring to oil paints.
  • The artist's bag was full of tubes of oils.

Synonyms

• Oil color: A less common, more formal synonym for oil paint.
• Oils: (as above, informal)

Notes

• Oil paint is a mass noun; it is generally not used in the plural ("oil paints") except when referring to multiple distinct types or tubes of paint (e.g., "I bought three new oil paints").
• It is the specific material, whereas "oil painting" refers to the technique or the resulting artwork.

Noun

1. paint in which a drying oil is the vehicle