What does lipstick mean?
Lipstick is a cosmetic used to add color to the lips. It is commonly sold in a small tube or other portable container and may be described as matte, satin, glossy, sheer, or long-lasting, depending on its finish and wear time. The word can refer either to an individual product or, in the mass sense, to the coloring material itself: someone might say they ran out of lipstick or that the lipstick had smudged. As a verb, lipstick means to apply it to the lips, and it can also imply that lipstick has been transferred as a mark. Although strongly associated with cosmetics and fashion in modern use, earlier applications of the term referred more generally to preparations or materials used to tint the lips. Lipstick remains an ordinary, widely understood term, while expressions such as “wear lipstick” and “apply lipstick” are especially common.
A colored cosmetic applied to the lips, especially one in the form of a small tube or solid stick.
"She kept a tube of lipstick in her handbag."
The countable form refers to a product or a portion of cosmetic; the mass form refers to lipstick as a substance.
To apply lipstick to the lips, or to leave a mark of lipstick on something.
"The artist carefully lipsticked the model's lips."
This use is less formal than “apply lipstick” and is especially common in descriptive or narrative contexts.
Use the plural for individual products, as in “a collection of lipsticks,” while the mass noun normally remains singular.
"The shop sells several brands of lipsticks."
Before it became a beauty staple, lipstick was simply what its name suggests: a stick of color made for the lips.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does lipstick come from?
Lipstick is a compound formed from “lip” and “stick.” Its modern sense as a cosmetic developed from earlier uses of “lipstick” for a coloring material or preparation applied to the lips, with the word also referring to the portable stick form in which the cosmetic was sold. The components have independent histories: “lip” comes from Old English, while “stick” refers to a slender, rigid piece of material. Modern forms and containers became established as cosmetics developed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Related word forms
How lipstick is actually used
As a noun, the word can refer to a particular cosmetic product or, as a mass noun, to the substance generally. The verb is less formal and is most natural in descriptions of applying lipstick or leaving lipstick marks on someone or something.
Easily confused with lipstick
Lipstick is a colored cosmetic for the lips, whereas lip gloss is typically a shinier, translucent product that adds shine rather than substantial color.