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• art deco
  art deco

  noun

  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
  Art Deco

  noun

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.

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Art Deco British  

/ ˈdɛkəʊ /

noun

1. 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

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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

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 • Feb. 14, 2026

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 • Jan. 13, 2026

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 • Jan. 11, 2026

Leaving the museum, I went on the hunt for another Miami touchpoint as beloved as art deco architecture: the ventanitas, or “little windows” that sell croquetas, cortaditos and other Cuban coffee and snacks.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 6, 2025

Formann’s Department Store was a tan art deco monolith.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu