peɪnt ˈpɪɡ.mənt ˈpɪɡ.mənt color or dye with a pigment pigment a photograph acquire pigment; become colored or imbued a substance used as a coating to protect or decorate a surface (especially a mixture of pigment suspended in a liquid); dries to form a hard coating artists use ‘paint’ and ‘pigment’ interchangeably dry coloring material (especially a powder to be mixed with a liquid to produce paint, etc.) any substance whose presence in plant or animal tissues produces a characteristic color