(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.
(used with a singular verb) such markings as a whole or as constituting a particular group: Not much graffiti appears around here these days.
Origin of graffiti
1850–55; <Italian, plural of graffito incised inscription or design, derivative with -ito-ite2 of graffiare to scratch, perhaps influenced by presumed Latin *graphīre to write; both probably derivative of Latin graphium stylus <Greek grapheîon;cf. graphic, grapho-, graft1
usage note for graffiti
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.
Some protest graffiti, however, have been blurred out on the Street View map.
Google Maps blurred “fight for freedom” and “democracy” graffiti in Hong Kong|Mary Hui|September 8, 2020|Quartz
Hip-hop, the superset that included break-dancing and graffiti art and picked up where disco left off, hit hard and Jackson earned a second — hell, third — life being sampled.
The Mother of WAP? The Indisputable Ms. Millie Jackson|Eugene Robinson|August 30, 2020|Ozy
Graffiti was borne out of the South Bronx streets as one of the key pillars of the hip-hop movement.
Catch Him If You Can: Reliving Banksy’s New York Invasion|Alex Suskind|November 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The amount of graffiti on such a wall would depend on the commitment of its defenders.
You Can Look It Up: The Wikipedia Story|Walter Isaacson|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Goldman is now dead, but his family still runs his business and maintains the graffiti wall.
Graffiti Artists Turn on Banksy: The Rise of Art Hate|Anthony Haden-Guest|August 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Two years later and sober, he was still acting out, facing 17 years for graffiti and vandalism.
The Buddhist Punk Reforming Drug Rehab|Stephen Krcmar|June 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Like most graffiti artists, she keeps a low profile and her identity is a secret.
Who Is Bambi, the Artist Behind Kim Kardashian’s Wedding-Gift Portrait?|Justin Jones|June 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
With reference to the graffiti, one singular circumstance mentioned by De Rossi is worth repeating here.
The Catholic World; Volume I, Issues 1-6|E. Rameur
We stayed two days at Eriosh to study the graffiti and tombs.
Southern Arabia|Theodore Bent
Among the graffiti in Pompeii are examples of the same subtle symbolism.
The Bon Gaultier Ballads|William Edmonstoune Aytoun
Graffiti may, indeed, tell us something about degrees of literacy.
The Merry-Thought: or the Glass-Window and Bog-House Miscellany|Hurlo Thrumbo (pseudonym)
The pavement of the whole cathedral is composed of graffiti in coloured marble pictures.
Cathedral Cities of Italy|William Wiehe Collins
British Dictionary definitions for graffiti
graffiti
/ (ɡræˈfiːtiː) /
pl nsingular-to (-təʊ)
(sometimes with singular verb)drawings, messages, etc, often obscene, scribbled on the walls of public lavatories, advertising posters, etc
archaeolinscriptions or drawings scratched or carved onto a surface, esp rock or pottery
Derived forms of graffiti
graffitist, noun
Word Origin for graffiti
C19: graffito from Italian: a little scratch, from graffio, from Latin graphium stylus, from Greek grapheion; see graft1
“Street Art” vs. “Graffiti”: What’s The Difference?Now more than ever before, public art is on the rise. New murals crop up in cities, large and small, on what feels like an everyday basis, each one breathing new, vibrant life into the streets that were once blank canvases for creativity. The terms graffiti and street art have long been used interchangeably to describe these public art installations—but what should we really call …