patchwork
[pach-wurk]
- something made up of an incongruous variety of pieces or parts; hodgepodge: a patchwork of verse forms.
- work made of pieces of cloth or leather of various colors or shapes sewed together, used especially for covering quilts, cushions, etc.
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- resembling a patchwork, especially in being makeshift, irregular, or improvised: a patchwork policy of dispensing foreign aid.
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- to make as patchwork: She specializes in patchworking skirts.
- to assemble or connect in making patchwork: to patchwork neckties into bedspreads.
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Origin of patchwork
Synonyms
See more synonyms for patchwork on Thesaurus.com1. medley, jumble, mélange.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for patchwork
Contemporary Examples
The lab opened the door to a patchwork of grants from around the world which allowed Lavie to begin auditioning actresses.
We have a patchwork system in which some people are covered, and others wait and wait.
Medicaid Will Give You Money for At-Home Care, but You Might Wait YearsElizabeth Picciuto
December 2, 2014
A patchwork of building shells and cratered streets, the city tells of a cyclical war, still smoldering.
Other parents use a patchwork of care with a different plan in place every day.
Like a patchwork quilt we can cherry pick from the holiday the parts that nurture our well worn hearts.
Historical Examples
Our pledge was not merely to do a patchwork job with secondhand materials.
He stripped to his underclothes and turned in under the patchwork comforters.
The Depot MasterJoseph C. Lincoln
My heart sank; patchwork was the thing my mother had tried to have me do, and I hated it.
Kristy's Rainy Day PicnicOlive Thorne Miller
This new and patchwork Court does but try to imitate the tone of its leader.
Tom Burke Of "Ours", Volume I (of II)Charles James Lever
Tests and forethought must take the place of failure and patchwork.
The Measurement of IntelligenceLewis Madison Terman
patchwork
- needlework done by sewing pieces of different materials together
- something, such as a theory, made up of various partsa patchwork of cribbed ideas
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for patchwork
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper