lipstick

IPA/ˈlɪpstɪk/
KK[lˈɪpstˌɪk]IPA/ˈlɪpstɪk/

lipstick — noun

  • lipsticksingular
  • lipsticksplural

1. a small solid stick of coloured makeup that you rub onto your lips to give them

1.nounB1
Definition

a small solid stick of coloured makeup that you rub onto your lips to give them a different colour or appearance

Example

Abigail wiped off her old lipstick before applying a new shade.

verb pattern: wipe off + lipstick

The makeup artist showed Sayaka how to apply lipstick without a mirror.

Common collocations
  • wear lipstick
  • apply lipstick
  • put on lipstick
  • red / pink / dark lipstick
  • lipstick shade
  • tube of lipstick
Synonyms
  • lip gloss

    a shinier, less solid product that gives a wet-look finish rather than full colour coverage

  • lip balm

    a moisturising product for dry or chapped lips, usually with little or no colour

Grammar Patterns

wear/apply + lipstick

[colour] + lipstick

a + [adjective] + lipstick

Usage Note

Lipstick can be uncountable when referring to the substance itself ('She never wears lipstick') or countable when referring to individual sticks or products ('She owns twenty different lipsticks').

Common Mistakes

She put lipstick on her mouth.
She put lipstick on her lips.
In English, 'lips' is the standard collocation for lipstick; 'mouth' sounds unnatural.
Idioms

put lipstick on a pig

idiom

Trying to make something look better by changing only its surface, while its real problems remain.

Renaming the failing product is just putting lipstick on a pig.

Maya said the new paint was only putting lipstick on a pig.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Lipstick, lip gloss, and lip balm are all cosmetics for the lips but differ in finish and purpose. Lipstick provides solid colour coverage in a stick form — it is the most common product for changing lip colour. Lip gloss is thinner and shinier, giving a wet-look finish with less colour intensity. Lip balm is designed primarily to moisturise and protect dry or chapped lips, and often has little to no colour. For example, you would wear lipstick to a formal dinner, use lip gloss for a casual daytime shine, and apply lip balm before going out in cold weather.

lipstick ↗lip gloss ↗lip balm

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • put on lipstick
  • wear lipstick
  • take off lipstick
  • a swipe of lipstick

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

The word lipstick is a compound of the Old English words lippa ('lip') and sticca ('stick' or 'rod'). It entered English in the late 1800s when manufacturers began selling solid stick-shaped lip colour — before that, lip colour was applied as a cream or liquid. The modern twist-up tube was invented around 1915.