embroider
Americanverb (used with object)
-
embroiders,
present (3rd person singular)
-
embroidered,
past participle, past
-
embroidering
present participle
-
to decorate with ornamental needlework.
-
to produce or form in needlework.
-
to adorn or embellish rhetorically, especially with ornate language or fictitious details.
He embroidered the account of the shipwreck to hold his listeners' interest.
- Synonyms:
- fancify, color, exaggerate, elaborate
verb (used without object)
-
embroiders,
present (3rd person singular)
-
embroidered,
past participle, past
-
embroidering
present participle
-
to do embroidery.
-
to add embellishments; exaggerate (often followed by on orupon ).
verb
-
to do decorative needlework (upon)
-
to add fictitious or fanciful detail to (a story)
-
to add exaggerated or improbable details to (an account of an event, etc)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
embroidersimple
-
embroiderssimple
-
have embroideredperfect
-
has embroideredperfect
-
am embroideringprogressive
-
are embroideringprogressive
-
is embroideringprogressive
-
have been embroideringperfect progressive
-
has been embroideringperfect progressive
Past
-
embroideredsimple
-
had embroideredperfect
-
was embroideringprogressive
-
were embroideringprogressive
-
had been embroideringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of embroider
1350–1400; em- 1 + broider; replacing Middle English embroderen, frequentative of embroden < Middle French embro ( u ) der, equivalent to em- em- 1 + Old French brosder, derivative of brosd < Germanic ( see brad)
Explanation
To embroider means to decorate with needlework. Picture your great grandmother's pillowcases or Hester Prynne's famous scarlet letter "A" — both of those objects are probably embroidered. To embroider refers to a type of ornamentation or needlework, but another usage of the word embroider means to embellish the truth. For example, if a fisherman sitting on the dock tells you about the 38-inch striped bass he almost caught this morning, he may have found a way to embroider the truth.
Vocabulary lists containing embroider
Inside Out & Back Again
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"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
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Brown Girl Dreaming
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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.
See Examples For:
When those employees left, they had to learn how to screen-print and embroider themselves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
Season 2 feels like much more of an ensemble affair as showrunner Tony Gilroy expands the show’s focus beyond one character’s moral development to more thoroughly embroider others that are just as worthwhile.
From Salon ● Apr. 22, 2025
Grandmothers told stories of their mothers teaching them to embroider.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2023
"I thought I'm going to buy a modern dress" and then embroider it with the fern motif of the privy council "as a nod to the past".
From BBC ● May 11, 2023
Now I am ten, learning to embroider circular stitches, to calculate fractions into percentages, to nurse my papaya tree to bear many fruits.
From "Inside Out and Back Again" by Thanhha Lai
O’Connor’s monologue focused on two things those unfamiliar with his acting should know about him: that he has a reputation as a “soft boy,” someone who embroiders, scrapbooks and gardens like an “average 65-year-old woman.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 14, 2025
At the same workshop, Getu Derza, 48, carefully embroiders colourful silk threads into intricate patterns.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2025
The large fabric “mapestries” that she embroiders with topographical details add to her affiliation with traditional craftspeople.
From New York Times ● Jan. 12, 2024
The supplier embroiders school logos in-house on a range of products including jumpers, sweatshirts, polo shirts and school bags.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2023
Gisa embroiders at the table, making something beautiful and exquisite and entirely beyond my comprehension.
From "Red Queen" by Victoria Aveyard
They might improve dinner—herbs, honey, good bread, something pickled—or have nothing to do with it: flowers, jam, a spice blend, a VHS tape, an embroidered denim vest.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
Eala's visor is embroidered with the phrase 'kapag lumago, hindi na hihinto', which translates to 'once it grows, it cannot be stopped'.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
“As I look forward to seeing the incredible ideas and leaders that will emerge from this institute,” Pelosi said, “I am thinking about the words embroidered in Abraham Lincoln’s overcoat — ‘One Country.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
But, more pertinently, Hegseth’s fear of the phrase “diversity is our strength,” an idiom so blandly inoffensive you can probably find it embroidered on a hand towel at T.J.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026
And with that, Mrs. Maroney was all smiles again and offering to prop up my aunt’s foot with one of the pretty embroidered pillows.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Kit men spent the 24 hours before Argentina faced England embroidering those shirts with numbers and the national crest.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
The mother-of-two said she works all day sewing clothes and embroidering but she can't afford baby formula for her youngest.
From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026
An A-line grey wool collarless coat had pink peonies of varying sizes splashed over it, while a shorter white wool cape was adorned with similar detailed pink and yellow peony embroidering.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 12, 2024
My life today consists of watching television, reading, embroidering and drawing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2023
She sits in bed, embroidering a pillowcase with a drawing of Cinderella wearing a ballroom gown.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
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.
