pattern

[ pat-ern; British pat-n ]

/ ˈpæt ərn; British ˈpæt n /

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See synonyms for: pattern / patterned / patterning / patterns on Thesaurus.com

noun

a decorative design, as for wallpaper, china, or textile fabrics, etc.

decoration or ornament having such a design.

a natural or chance marking, configuration, or design: patterns of frost on the window.

a distinctive style, model, or form: a new pattern of army helmet.

a combination of qualities, acts, tendencies, etc., forming a consistent or characteristic arrangement: the behavior patterns of teenagers.

an original or model considered for or deserving of imitation: Our constitution has been a pattern for those of many new republics.

anything fashioned or designed to serve as a model or guide for something to be made: a paper pattern for a dress.

a sufficient quantity of material for making a garment.

the path of flight established for an aircraft approaching an airport at which it is to land.

a diagram of lines transmitted occasionally by a television station to aid in adjusting receiving sets; test pattern.

Metallurgy. a model or form, usually of wood or metal, used for giving the shape of the interior of a mold.

Numismatics. a coin, either the redesign of an existing piece or the model for a new one, submitted for authorization as a regular issue.

an example, instance, sample, or specimen.

Gunnery, Aerial Bombing.

the distribution of strikes around a target at which artillery rounds have been fired or on which bombs have been dropped.
a diagram showing such distribution.

verb (used with object)

to make or fashion after or according to a pattern.

to cover or mark with a pattern.

Chiefly British Dialect.

to imitate.
to attempt to match or duplicate.

verb (used without object)

to make or fall into a pattern.

OTHER WORDS FOR pattern

1 figure.

4 kind, sort.

6 example, exemplar.

See synonyms for pattern on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of pattern

1325–75; Middle English patron<Medieval Latin patrōnus model, special use of Latin patrōnuspatron

OTHER WORDS FROM pattern

pat·tern·a·ble, adjectivepatterned, adjectivepat·tern·er, nounpat·tern·less, adjective

pat·tern·like, adjectivepat·tern·y, adjectivenon·pat·terned, adjectivere·pat·tern, verb (used with object)sem·i·pat·terned, adjectivesub·pat·tern, nounun·pat·terned, adjective

Words nearby pattern

patroon, patsy, pattée, patten, patter, pattern, pattern bargaining, pattern bombing, patterning, patternmaker, pattern practice

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pattern in a sentence

This, according to the writers, is a marked departure from the voting patterns of the 2016 presidential elections.
The Modi-Trump friendship could change the way Indian-Americans vote in November 2020|Manavi Kapur|September 17, 2020|Quartz
When macrophages and other innate immune cells respond to pathogens, their DNA gets epigenetic modifications that make it easier to activate the genes that direct the cell to make pattern recognition receptors and disease-fighting proteins.
‘Trained Immunity’ Offers Hope in Fight Against Coronavirus|Esther Landhuis|September 14, 2020|Quanta Magazine
We have to remember that, and be vigilant in our efforts so that we do not reproduce these patterns.
Why Coming Up With Effective Interventions To Address COVID-19 Is So Hard|Neil Lewis Jr. (nlewisjr@cornell.edu)|September 14, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Including non-Western countries in AI ethics is the best way to avoid repeating this pattern.
AI ethics groups are repeating one of society’s classic mistakes|Amy Nordrum|September 14, 2020|MIT Technology Review

Chang isn’t the only one to encounter unusual patterns in the options market.
‘Going to Vegas:’ Newbie options traders face a reckoning as the tech stock rally fades|Jeff|September 14, 2020|Fortune
And in so many of these events, the pattern of “blame the victim” was quickly in evidence.
In 2015, Let’s Try for More Compassion|Gene Robinson|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I would have told them, ‘Do not get into a pattern in which you’re intimidated by these kinds of criminal attacks.
Should the U.S. Really Pay a Kim’s Ransom?|Kevin Bleyer|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Although the Brits would capture New York City a few weeks later, a pattern had been set.
The British Royals Reinvade Brooklyn: William and Kate Come Watch Basketball on Historic Battle Site|Justin Jones|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The endpaper features a “pattern of marbleized paper” that has been “individually designed.”
Rand Paul’s Many Leather-Bound Books|Olivia Nuzzi|November 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The loss of his life, and all the others from this summer, back to Trayvon and well before that, are part of a pattern.
Raging Protesters Set Ferguson on Fire|Justin Glawe|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The noise of the hammer is always in his ears, and his eye is upon the pattern of the vessel he maketh.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
Her eye fastened on a circular portion of the wall-paper pattern, and she felt that the whole room was revolving about her.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
Antonius and Hieronymus conjointly built a number of large pattern violins, which are of high finish and beautiful wood.
Violins and Violin Makers|Joseph Pearce
It is a matter of regret that some one pattern has not been agreed on by all the builders concerned.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
Another of the same set in the same hands is a splendid Stradiuarius of the large pattern with a magnificent tone.
Violins and Violin Makers|Joseph Pearce

British Dictionary definitions for pattern (1 of 2)

pattern¹

/ (ˈpætən) /

noun

an arrangement of repeated or corresponding parts, decorative motifs, etcalthough the notes seemed random, a careful listener could detect a pattern

a decorative designa paisley pattern

a stylevarious patterns of cutlery

a plan or diagram used as a guide in making somethinga paper pattern for a dress

a standard way of moving, acting, etctraffic patterns

a model worthy of imitationa pattern of kindness

a representative sample

a wooden or metal shape or model used in a foundry to make a mould

the arrangement of marks made in a target by bullets
a diagram displaying such an arrangement

verb (tr)

(often foll by after or on) to model

to arrange as or decorate with a pattern

Word Origin for pattern

C14 patron, from Medieval Latin patrōnus example, from Latin: patron 1

British Dictionary definitions for pattern (2 of 2)

pattern²

patron

/ (ˈpætərn) /

noun

Irish an outdoor assembly with religious practices, traders' stalls, etc on the feast day of a patron saint

Word Origin for pattern

C18: variant of patron 1; see pattern 1

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

pattern

OTHER WORDS FOR pattern

Origin of pattern

OTHER WORDS FROM pattern

Words nearby pattern

Words related to pattern

How to use pattern in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pattern (1 of 2)

Word Origin for pattern

British Dictionary definitions for pattern (2 of 2)

patron

Word Origin for pattern