patchwork
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.
resembling a patchwork, especially in being makeshift, irregular, or improvised: a patchwork policy of dispensing foreign aid.
to make as patchwork: She specializes in patchworking skirts.
to assemble or connect in making patchwork: to patchwork neckties into bedspreads.
Origin of patchwork
1Other words for patchwork
Other words from patchwork
- patchworky, adjective
Words Nearby patchwork
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use patchwork in a sentence
Rather than those little multihued flakes, the snack version is formed into a wafer that looks like a colorful patchwork quilt.
‘Cereal snacks’ are just bigger cereal for people too lazy to add milk | Emily Heil | February 9, 2021 | Washington PostThe Buccaneers’ pass rush is creating problems for the Chiefs’ patchwork offensive line, to no one’s surprise.
Super Bowl highlights: Bucs celebrate championship, Tom Brady wins MVP | Des Bieler, Mark Maske, Chuck Culpepper | February 8, 2021 | Washington PostMaking it harder is a chaotic, patchwork system for getting shots in arms.
Montgomery County teacher vaccination effort left out private-school educators at start | Donna St. George | February 3, 2021 | Washington PostThe court’s refusal to hear the case leaves a murky patchwork of laws making it easier for us to buy wines online from wineries than from retailers.
Wine sales will keep rising after the pandemic, a new report predicts — but maybe not for long | Dave McIntyre | January 15, 2021 | Washington PostThat allowed the rising sun to pour its rays into the sky unobstructed from the east, the sunlight then catching on the patchwork of upper-level clouds.
A magnificent sunrise marks January’s midpoint in D.C. | Matthew Cappucci, Jason Samenow | January 15, 2021 | Washington Post
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 Years | Elizabeth Picciuto | December 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTA patchwork of building shells and cratered streets, the city tells of a cyclical war, still smoldering.
Petite a-frame suede mini-skirts featured patchwork pockets or cut-out patterns on leather.
Nicolas Ghesquière Presents His Debut Collection for Louis Vuitton | Liza Foreman | March 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOther parents use a patchwork of care with a different plan in place every day.
For Working Moms, One Sick Kid Can Spell Disaster | Danielle Shapiro | January 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThis patchwork way of constructing engines made success much more difficult.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2) | Francis TrevithickWhat do you suppose my friend the patchwork Girl would think of me, if she saw me wearing this beastly shape?
The Tin Woodman of Oz | L. Frank BaumWorn-out clothes were returned to the vlicus to be made up into patchwork quilts.
The Private Life of the Romans | Harold Whetstone JohnstonMinnie was placed in Mrs. Thimbleby's own high-backed chair, with the clean patchwork-covered cushions piled behind her.
A Charming Fellow, Volume II (of 3) | Frances Eleanor TrollopeEnvelopes, notes, the Baltimore Sun, and other papers were strewn thick over the silk patchwork quilt.
The Open Question | Elizabeth Robins
British Dictionary definitions for patchwork
/ (ˈpætʃˌwɜːk) /
needlework done by sewing pieces of different materials together
something, such as a theory, made up of various parts: a patchwork of cribbed ideas
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
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