painter
painter — noun
1. an artist who creates pictures by spreading colours onto a surface such as canva
an artist who creates pictures by spreading colours onto a surface such as canvas or paper, often as a career or a serious hobby.
Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter who often put herself in her pictures.
common pattern: '[adjective of nationality] + painter'
Lina dreams of becoming a painter and selling her work in a small gallery.
'become a painter' for choosing it as a career
Van Gogh is one of the most famous painters of sunflowers and starry skies.
The museum in Taipei is showing works by three young painters from Tainan.
The painter set up her easel by the river and began mixing oils on a small canvas.
- artist
broader — covers sculptors, illustrators, and others, not only those who use paint
- illustrator
creates pictures for books, magazines, or posters rather than gallery art
文法句型
a painter of [subject]
a [adjective] painter
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 2: this sense refers to fine-art creators, often modified by an art style or subject ('landscape painter', 'portrait painter', 'abstract painter'). Sense 2 (the trade worker) is usually unmodified or paired with a building-trade word.
常見錯誤
2. a tradesperson hired to coat the walls, doors, ceilings, and outside woodwork of
a tradesperson hired to coat the walls, doors, ceilings, and outside woodwork of houses or other buildings with paint.
We hired a local painter to repaint the kitchen before the baby arrived.
collocation: 'hire a painter'
The painter spent two days putting a fresh coat of white on the bedroom walls.
typical action: 'put a coat of [colour] on [surface]'
Mr. Lee has worked as a painter and decorator in Kaohsiung for over twenty years.
Three painters in white overalls were finishing the front of the old hotel.
The painters left their ladders and brushes on the lawn during the lunch break.
- decorator
British — often used together as 'painter and decorator'; covers wallpaper too
- house painter
American — makes the trade clear and avoids confusion with the artist sense
文法句型
hire a painter
a painter and decorator
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this sense names a trade worker, not an artist. Often appears with verbs of hiring or scheduling ('hire/call/book a painter') and with words for surfaces and tools ('walls', 'ladder', 'brush', 'overalls'). The British compound 'painter and decorator' is fixed.