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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.


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.

Art deco motifs, fossils and massive drawings of hands are among the installations that will greet riders passing through the three new stations on L.A.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026

The 1950s were a hot onscreen topic in the 1970s — remember “Grease,” “American Graffiti” and “Happy Days”? Art deco was popular in the late 1960s.

From Washington Post • Apr. 3, 2015

Art deco apartment buildings lined the palm-fringed beachfront.

From New York Times • Apr. 6, 2012

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