Graffiti

//ɡɹəˈfi.ti// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Drawings or words drawn on a surface in a public place, usually made without authorization. uncountable, usually

    "The underpass is a popular place for graffiti artists."

  2. 2
    a rude decoration inscribed on rocks or walls wordnet
  3. 3
    Informal inscriptions, figure drawings, etc., as opposed to official inscriptions. countable, usually
Verb
  1. 1
    To mark a surface with such images. transitive

Synonyms

All synonyms
cave paintingcave paintingdefacementepigraphygraffitograffito

Antonyms

All antonyms
art

Example

More examples

"The wall was covered with graffiti."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- Proto-Hellenic *grə́pʰō Ancient Greek γρᾰ́φω (grắphō)bor. Italian graffire Italian graffito Italian graffitibor. English graffiti Borrowed from Italian graffiti, from graffito, from graffire, borrowed from Ancient Greek γρᾰ́φω (grắphō, “to write”), from Proto-Hellenic *grə́pʰō, from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ-.

Related phrases

digital graffitigraffiti artgraffiti artistgraffiti bombergraffiti knittingreverse graffitigraffiti artgraffiti artisthip hopstreet art

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.