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:
There’s an area where she can paint, sculpt, do jigsaw puzzles, Lego sets, embroider — all the things that ease her anxiety but also help her work through creative blocks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
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
According to legend, Tyre is the place where purple pigment was first created - the dye crushed out of snail shells to embroider royal robes.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2024
“I’m going to embroider hearts into my husband’s clothes when I mend them. Because I’ll love him so much!”
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
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 supplier embroiders school logos in-house on a range of products including jumpers, sweatshirts, polo shirts and school bags.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2023
Past Lottie embroiders it on a baby blanket for Shauna, which may or may not have triggered a mass bird death around their cabin.
From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2023
Gisa embroiders at the table, making something beautiful and exquisite and entirely beyond my comprehension.
From "Red Queen" by Victoria Aveyard
It tells, over 230 feet of finely embroidered cloth, the story of the last time England was conquered—the victory of William of Normandy at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
It was originally embroidered in England but kept for centuries in France, and tells the story of the Norman conquest of England and the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
The insider further revealed that the lovers spent 20 minutes exchanging their handwritten vows, and that they handed out custom handkerchiefs, embroidered with a “TT” and lyrics from Swift’s 2014 song “Blank Space.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026
The photos published by TMZ also show Thornton, who is wearing a black jacket embroidered with the “Wheel of Fortune” logo on his sleeve, appearing to type into the chat room.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
Fresh grass pushed through the old, dead stubble, buds embroidered the trees.
From "Abel's Island" by William Steig
Artisans at the London fashion house Safiyaa spent 150 hours embroidering Anderson’s bespoke silk reception outfit.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
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
Although Aleys’s mother cannot read, she knows the stories of the saints and relishes embroidering them with “goriest” details to keep her children interested.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2026
Instead, I worked on embroidering a pillow sham as I waited for the cool of the evening.
From "Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution" by Ji-li Jiang
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
