calico
Americannoun
-
a plain-woven cotton cloth printed with a figured pattern, usually on one side.
-
British. plain white cotton cloth.
-
an animal having a spotted or particolored coat.
-
Obsolete. a figured cotton cloth from India.
adjective
-
made of calico.
-
resembling printed calico; spotted or mottled.
noun
-
a white or unbleached cotton fabric with no printed design
-
a coarse printed cotton fabric
-
(modifier) made of calico
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Cay
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
"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
At the time of this story's publication, both are still at the shelter waiting to be adopted . . . although the calico is currently advertised as bonded with a different gray tabby.
From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2024
Scientists have long been fascinated by tortoiseshell and calico cats: the offspring of a black cat and an orange cat.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 27, 2024
Meet Zia, my dilute calico who enjoys chasing droplets of water in the tub and lying flat on her back, like a fluffy rug in a log cabin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2024
She had little red flannel stockings and little black cloth gaiters for shoes, and her dress was pretty pink and blue calico.
From "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Hansons' cat is specifically a torn, and cat lovers soon pointed out that all calicoes are female.
From Time Magazine Archive
By the Victorian era, odd batches of brocade, chintzes and calicoes were patched into crazy quilts, more a tour de force in stitchery than in pattern.
From Time Magazine Archive
If she had been home, she might have spent the dark afternoons spinning or sewing, but the mistress bought her woolens and calicoes at the village stores.
From "Lyddie" by Katherine Paterson
We still, received the calicoes and printed cottons from India.
From Knowledge is Power: A View of the Productive Forces of Modern Society and the Results of Labor, Capital and Skill. by Knight, Charles
Jem obeyed, and soon returning, brought with her a box filled with bits of calicoes, and various odds and ends, seated herself also, and proceeded to fashion what she was pleased to call "doll's clothes."
From The Hazeley Family by Johnson, A. E. (Alfred Edwin)
Most orange cats are boys, a quirk of feline genetics that also explains why almost all calicos and tortoiseshells are girls.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 27, 2024
Arhgap36’s inactivation pattern in calicos and tortoiseshells is typical of a gene on the X chromosome, Brown says, but it’s unusual that a deletion mutation would make a gene more active, not less.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 27, 2024
The prints are Laura Ashley-esque micro-florals, calicos and gingham, the necklines are high, sometimes there is a bib or apron, there is usually at least one ruffle.
From New York Times ● Sep. 12, 2018
Kansas City grew big and rich on the nation's appetite for meat and bread and for the West's desires for the East's calicos and gadgets.
From Time Magazine Archive
Miss Preston surges to her feet, a mountain of calicos and lace.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
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.
