embroider
Americanverb (used with object)
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to decorate with ornamental needlework.
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to produce or form in needlework.
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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)
-
to do embroidery.
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to add embellishments; exaggerate (often followed by on orupon ).
verb
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to do decorative needlework (upon)
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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
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embroiderssimple
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have embroideredperfect
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has embroideredperfect
-
am embroideringprogressive
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are embroideringprogressive
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is embroideringprogressive
-
have been embroideringperfect progressive
-
has been embroideringperfect progressive
Past
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embroideredsimple
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had embroideredperfect
-
was embroideringprogressive
-
were embroideringprogressive
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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
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:
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
The family leader in Manson’s absence, she helped embroider an elaborate ceremonial vest for him, weaving in her own red locks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2024
He taught himself to sew and embroider, sculpt with thermoplastics, and even tan leather.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 17, 2023
The assignment was to embroider “Welcome to Our Home” in flowery script.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
At the same workshop, Getu Derza, 48, carefully embroiders colourful silk threads into intricate patterns.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2025
Erick Medel embroiders denim with an industrial sewing machine, making works that touch on everyday life in Los Angeles, particularly those living and working in Boyle Heights and the city’s Eastside.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2024
Los Angeles artist Diane Meyer embroiders family photos like distorted pixelations to ask questions about memory.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 24, 2023
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
Both had the same question embroidered on them: “¿Y si sí?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
I squeezed into a seat next to an aging veteran wearing a uniform and a cap embroidered with Dearborn.
From Slate ● Apr. 29, 2026
Playing in a special jersey that was embroidered with a tribute, the open-side scored a try and made telling contributions in both attack and defence.
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026
At the time, a similar cap -- white, with gold embroidered letters -- was for sale on The Trump Organization website for $55.
From Barron's ● Apr. 21, 2026
Mrs. Apple was likewise wrapped in a toga, although the Swanburne emblem embroidered in the corners of the fabric suggested use as a tablecloth in the recent past.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
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
He imagined the old weaver catching sight of the technology for the first time and being so enthralled that he fit it into a flower, like someone embroidering an iPhone inside an anemone.
From New York Times ● Jun. 22, 2022
Young as she was, Mr. Das entrusted her with embroidering threads of real gold.
From "Homeless Bird" by Gloria Whelan
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.
