Graffiti Definition & Meaning

American

British

Usage

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Synonyms graffiti American [gruh-fee-tee] / grəˈfi ti /

noun

1. plural of graffito.

2. (used with a plural verb) markings, as initials, slogans, or drawings, written, spray-painted, or sketched on a sidewalk, wall of a building or public restroom, or the like.

   These graffiti are evidence of the neighborhood's decline.

3. (used with a singular verb) such markings as a whole or as constituting a particular group.

   Not much graffiti appears around here these days.

graffiti British / ɡræˈfiːtiː /

plural noun

1. (sometimes with singular verb) drawings, messages, etc, often obscene, scribbled on the walls of public lavatories, advertising posters, etc

2. archaeol inscriptions or drawings scratched or carved onto a surface, esp rock or pottery

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

In formal speech and writing graffiti takes a plural verb. In less formal contexts it is sometimes considered a mass noun and is used with a singular verb. The singular graffito is found mostly in archaeological and other technical writing.

Other Word Forms

• graffitist noun

Etymology

Origin of graffiti

1850–55; < Italian, plural of graffito incised inscription or design, derivative with -ito -ite 2 of graffiare to scratch, perhaps influenced by presumed Latin *graphīre to write; both probably derivative of Latin graphium stylus < Greek grapheîon; graphic, grapho-, graft 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

What the model can’t capture is the way the graffiti tags on the towers often stand out, as if emblazoned against the L.A. sky.

From Los Angeles Times

Keshy is one of a number of residents who has told BBC News NI that the graffiti has left them feeling angry and afraid.

From BBC

I’ve always been a fan of street art and outside work, and even graffiti is a pathway to that.

From Los Angeles Times

Westminster Mall, a once-popular shopping center that has been desecrated by graffiti and vandalism since it closed last year, is on track for demolition soon.

From Los Angeles Times

The highway sign was nearly indecipherable beneath layers of stickers and graffiti.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.