finger painting

noun

: a technique of spreading pigment on paper chiefly with the fingers
also : a picture so produced

Examples of finger painting in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web According to Phillips, finger painting promotes fine motor development. Nicole Harris, Parents, 19 Aug. 2023 Each theme entry combines a color and a word related to fingers to create a term that is not actually related to finger painting: WHITE KNUCKLE, BLUE PRINTS and GREEN THUMB. New York Times, 10 July 2022 Watching pickleball or padel--surely available for the determined on ESPN2 or one of its offshoot channels, or if all else fails, on YouTube--then taking in an actual professional tennis match is like comparing finger painting to Picasso, the NBA's three-point shooting contest to a Finals Game 7. Arkansas Online, 28 Dec. 2022 For much of the night, Penn State’s 67-65 overtime win over Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals Friday more closely resembled a finger painting than a Picasso. Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2023 This collection renders the Ghanaian artist’s rich portraits — centering Black joy and interiority — in calculated brushwork and finger painting. New York Times, 9 Feb. 2023 Prince Louis was memorably captured after a messy multicolored finger painting session. Simon Perry, PEOPLE.com, 13 Sep. 2020 The hairs in your nose continue to beat after deathPaleolithic finger painting? Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 8 Oct. 2011 Decorate bookmarks, do some finger painting or make jellyfish out of paper bowls and yarn. Patrick Connolly, Orlando Sentinel, 29 Sep. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'finger painting.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1885, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of finger painting was in 1885

Dictionary Entries Near finger painting

Cite this Entry

“Finger painting.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/finger%20painting. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

finger painting

noun
1
: a method of spreading paint on wet paper chiefly with the fingers
2
: a picture produced by finger painting

More from Merriam-Webster on finger painting

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!