pattern

[ pat-ern; British pat-n ]

/ ˈpæt ərn; British ˈpæt n /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR pattern 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.

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Origin of pattern

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

SYNONYMS FOR pattern

1 figure.

4 kind, sort.

6 example, exemplar.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR pattern ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM pattern

pat·tern·a·ble, adjectivepat·terned, 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

patrón, patsy, patten, patter, patter song, pattern, pattern bargaining, pattern bombing, pattern practice, pattern recognition, pattern sensitive epilepsy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for pattern

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
In the last year of this period the pattern post was established.
The Life of Sir Rowland Hill, Vol. II (of 2)|Rowland Hill
There were rumours that among the articles was a silver coal-scuttle, but it proved to be a sugar-bowl in that pattern.
Tommy and Grizel|J.M. Barrie
For a good mile he trudged on, never taking his eyes off the pattern impressed on the surface of the road.
The House of Strange Secrets|A. Eric Bayly
Continue the rows until sufficient of the pattern is worked.
The Art of Modern Lace Making|The Butterick Publishing Co.
As the heat burned off the inclosing basket, the pattern was left molded on the clay.
The Silent Readers|William D. Lewis

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

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pattern