patchwork
Americannoun
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patchworks
plural
adjective
verb (used with object)
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to make as patchwork.
She specializes in patchworking skirts.
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to assemble or connect in making patchwork.
to patchwork neckties into bedspreads.
noun
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needlework done by sewing pieces of different materials together
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something, such as a theory, made up of various parts
a patchwork of cribbed ideas
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of patchwork
Vocabulary lists containing patchwork
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:
Across the country, access to recess remains a patchwork, shaped by how laws are enforced.
From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2026
Rather, it has a patchwork of municipal and county zoning ordinances, with some — including in the cities of Burbank and Culver City and Alameda County — requiring buffer zones.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
Only a handful of US states mandate teaching of it, leading to a patchwork of different content and approaches across the country, so volunteers, teachers and charities are stepping up.
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
Her mother, Avie Lee Parton, even made her daughter a new patchwork coat to put on display at the museum inside the Dollywood theme park in her home state of Tennessee.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
Like Tawantinsuyu, it was a patchwork of satrapies rather than a unified state; indeed, several large groups within the Alliance had managed to hang on to their independence despite being surrounded by hostile forces.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Lek’s paintings are so layered that they have been likened to quilts — rich patchworks that remind viewers how much more there is to see.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2023
Across the state, Marshall has documented the transformation of landscapes historically characterized by patchworks of saplings, mature trees, shrubs and meadows — all shaped by frequent, small fires.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 1, 2023
Atlanta artist Kelly Taylor Mitchell addresses ancestral heritage with clothing-like patchworks of paper and textiles.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 9, 2022
Scientists hope patchworks of multi-coloured crops will help hide them "in plain sight" from pests as a natural alternative to pesticides.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2022
It makes the stories patchworks, not beautiful rugs.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
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.
