calico
Americannoun
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a plain-woven cotton cloth printed with a figured pattern, usually on one side.
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British. plain white cotton cloth.
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an animal having a spotted or particolored coat.
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Obsolete. a figured cotton cloth from India.
adjective
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made of calico.
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resembling printed calico; spotted or mottled.
noun
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a white or unbleached cotton fabric with no printed design
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a coarse printed cotton fabric
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(modifier) made of calico
Etymology
Origin of calico
1495–1505; short for Calico cloth, variant of Calicut cloth, named after city in India which originally exported it
Explanation
You can call anything with bright colors and patches calico like your cute calico cat or your colorful calico quilt. There are many fabrics in the world, including silk, cashmere, and denim. Another is calico, which is made from cotton fibers and is printed, meaning it has designs or pictures on it. A calico dress may be printed with purple flowers or have another wild design. Because calico is brightly colored, this word also describes just about anything decorated brightly. As an adjective, calico means something close to motley or multi-colored. A calico design is varied and anything but boring.
Vocabulary lists containing calico
Chains
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The Cay
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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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.
"Lizards, skinks and dragons were secured in calico bags. These bags were concealed in bags of popcorn, biscuit tins and a women's handbag and placed inside cardboard boxes," the statement said.
From Barron's • Feb. 17, 2026
"Here's my offering - the shorthair is a boy named Bob and the calico is a girl named Marley."
From BBC • Jan. 16, 2025
Scanning a database of 188 cat genomes, Barsh’s team found every single orange, calico, and tortoiseshell cat had the exact same mutation.
From Science Magazine • Nov. 27, 2024
The curious calico and her orange tomcat friend, Monu, had recently been sterilized and returned to the market.
From Salon • Oct. 14, 2024
She took another section of quilt and stripped the batting off, then ripped the yellow calico into strips and dunked them into the plaster.
From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
