Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

art deco

American  
Or Art Deco

noun

  1. a style of decorative art developed originally in the 1920s with a revival in the 1960s, marked chiefly by geometric motifs, curvilinear forms, sharply defined outlines, often bold colors, and the use of synthetic materials, as plastics.


Art Deco British  
/ ˈdɛkəʊ /

noun

    1. a style of interior decoration, jewellery, architecture, etc, at its height in the 1930s and characterized by geometrical shapes, stylized natural forms, and symmetrical utilitarian designs adapted to mass production

    2. ( as modifier )

      an Art-Deco carpet

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of art deco

1965–70; < French Art Déco, shortened from Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, an exposition of modern decorative and industrial arts held in Paris, France, in 1925

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The housing provider said it did not expect the art deco site, which was built in the 1930s, to reopen to students for the start of the 2026/27 academic year.

From BBC

We stepped into the cab, which was paneled with an art deco pattern of inlaid wood and had brass railings on three sides.

From Literature

Among the oil paintings, art deco ephemera and geological artifacts, I wasn’t expecting a preserved memorial from the days following the 2015 terrorist attacks, and it leveled me.

From The Wall Street Journal

Brittany Hampton is blasting Olivia Dean as she scurries through her apartment, impeccably decorated with art deco furniture sourced from Facebook Marketplace.

From Los Angeles Times

The future of the Chrysler Building, a unique monument to art deco architecture on the Manhattan skyline, remains in limbo as it awaits a possible sale.

From Barron's