Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Drawings or inscriptions made on a wall or other surface, usually so as to be seen by the public.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun plural Inscriptions, figure drawings, etc., found on the walls of ancient sepulchers or ruins, as in the Catacombs, or at Pompeii.
  • noun plural any writings or drawings on a surface in a public place, placed there without authorization of the owner of the object on which it is written. Such graffiti are usually unwelcome, and are considered as form of vandalism.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A form of vandalism involving painting text or images in public places.
  • noun A form of art involving painting text or images in public places.
  • noun archaeology, countable Informal inscriptions, figure drawings, etc., as opposed to official inscriptions.
  • verb To create such images

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a rude decoration inscribed on rocks or walls

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Italian, pl. of graffito; see graffito.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Italian graffiti

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Examples

  • And our last stop is, play the highlight of the "Express Yourself" tour is what we call the graffiti wall.

    CNN Transcript Jan 26, 2008 2008

  • However, we -- there were constant possibly what we call graffiti in America on walls trying to persuade the neutral civilians in Ramadi toward their sides and their actions against us.

    CNN Transcript Apr 9, 2004 2004

  • He said police are evaluating how they deal with young offenders and he himself is working to continue what he calls "graffiti community building" - community-designed graffiti art projects.

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed TIM ALAMENCIAK 2011

  • This kind of graffiti is ruining many places in Kuwait and one of them is where I live.

    Global Voices in English » Kuwait: Is Graffiti Art or Vandalism? 2009

  • This masterpiece of "graffiti" is an interesting representation of the original door from Sullivan's Transportation Building from the 1892 Columbian Exposition.

    August 2008 2008

  • The word graffiti comes from a Latin origin which means to scrape away to reveal something below, and people have been practising it since the beginning of time, "she says.

    Vue Weekly 2009

  • The word graffiti comes from a Latin origin which means to scrape away to reveal something below, and people have been practising it since the beginning of time, "she says.

    Vue Weekly 2009

  • The reactions of the citizens are mixed: some call for an increase in the sanctions for those who practice graffiti, increased fines and detention time; others consider that graffiti is not a crime that deserves imprisonment.

    Global Voices in English » Mexico: Young Graffiti Writers Arrested in Monterrey 2009

  • The post attracted 56 comments so far, ranging from those who thought that engaging in graffiti was better than “harassing girls” at malls to those who expressed outrage and suggested getting the police involved.

    Global Voices in English » Kuwait: Is Graffiti Art or Vandalism? 2009

  • Reverse graffiti is a type of street art that effaces – not defaces – public property.

    REVERSE GRAFFITI: South African Artists Tag Walls By Scrubbing Them Clean | Inhabitat 2010

  • In a sheet of key terms, graffiti was defined as “unauthorized artworks that are word-based,” while murals are “works typically authorized, if not commissioned.”

    How Graffiti Became Gentrified Daisy Alioto 2023

Comments

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  • This shocking example was found at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

    April 10, 2007

  • la all day

    December 4, 2009