pattern

American  

[pat-ern, pat-n] / ˈpæt ərn, ˈpæt n /

noun

• patterns
  plural

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

   Synonyms:

   figure

2. decoration or ornament having such a design.

3. a natural or chance marking, configuration, or design.

   patterns of frost on the window.

4. a distinctive style, model, or form.

   a new pattern of army helmet.

   Synonyms:

   sort, kind

5. a combination of qualities, acts, tendencies, etc., forming a consistent or characteristic arrangement.

   the behavior patterns of teenagers.

6. an original or model considered for or deserving of imitation.

   Our constitution has been a pattern for those of many new republics.

   Synonyms:

   exemplar, example

7. anything fashioned or designed to serve as a model or guide for something to be made.

   a paper pattern for a dress.

8. a sufficient quantity of material for making a garment.

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

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

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

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

13. an example, instance, sample, or specimen.

14. Gunnery, Aerial Bombing.

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

    2. a diagram showing such distribution.

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verb (used with object)

• patterns,
  present (3rd person singular)
• patterned,
  past participle,  past
• patterning
  present participle

1. to make or fashion after or according to a pattern.

2. to cover or mark with a pattern.

3. Chiefly British Dialect.

   1. to imitate.

   2. to attempt to match or duplicate.

verb (used without object)

• patterns,
  present (3rd person singular)
• patterned,
  past participle,  past
• patterning
  present participle

1. to make or fall into a pattern.

pattern ¹ British  

/ ˈpætən /

noun

1. an arrangement of repeated or corresponding parts, decorative motifs, etc

   although the notes seemed random, a careful listener could detect a pattern

2. a decorative design

   a paisley pattern

3. a style

   various patterns of cutlery

4. a plan or diagram used as a guide in making something

   a paper pattern for a dress

5. a standard way of moving, acting, etc

   traffic patterns

6. a model worthy of imitation

   a pattern of kindness

7. a representative sample

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

9. 1. the arrangement of marks made in a target by bullets

   2. a diagram displaying such an arrangement

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verb

1. to model

2. to arrange as or decorate with a pattern

pattern ² British  

/ ˈpætərn /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• patterner
  noun
• subpattern
  noun
• repattern
  verb (used with object)
• nonpatterned
  adjective
• patternable
  adjective
• patterned
  adjective
• patternless
  adjective
• patternlike
  adjective
• patterny
  adjective
• semipatterned
  adjective
• unpatterned
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• patterns
  plural

Participles

• patterning
  present
• patterned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• pattern
  simple
• patterns
  simple
• have patterned
  perfect
• has patterned
  perfect
• am patterning
  progressive
• are patterning
  progressive
• is patterning
  progressive
• have been patterning
  perfect progressive
• has been patterning
  perfect progressive

Past

• patterned
  simple
• had patterned
  perfect
• was patterning
  progressive
• were patterning
  progressive
• had been patterning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will pattern
  simple
• will have patterned
  perfect
• will be patterning
  progressive
• will have been patterning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of pattern

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English patron, from Medieval Latin patrōnus “model,” special use of Latin patrōnus “legal protector, advocate”; see patron

Explanation

Something that repeats in a predictable way is a pattern. You might find a pattern in a series of numbers, in the material covering your couch, or in the habits of your upstairs neighbor. The noun pattern could refer to a design or to customary behavior. Your patterns of behavior might include your morning cup of coffee and exercise. The word pattern can also be used as a verb form meaning "to model." For example, your art might be patterned after the artwork of a famous artist.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pattern patterns patterned patterning

During the 2015-16 El Niño season, California didn’t experience elevated rainfall, but did see record coastal erosion, another hallmark of the climate pattern.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

The usual pattern of foreign money flooding into the Treasury market in a crisis isn’t some law of nature.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

That pattern suggests pacing may have been more strongly connected to familiar daily routines and the expectation of feeding than to hunger itself.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

The case arises out of a mundane fact pattern: Kendrick Beaird pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026

“Someone who knows what that pattern in your palm means.”

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

AI can monitor trends across transactions and interactions, such as declining engagement and changes in transaction patterns, to identify early signs of churn.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

Climate experts have warned that the 2026-2027 El Niño is likely to cause major shifts in weather patterns around the world, intensifying droughts in some areas and floods in others.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

El Nino is a natural phenomenon recurring every two to seven years due to the warming of sea surfaces, bringing worldwide changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

The AI learns to recognize patterns associated with outcomes of interest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Instead, she gazes at the patterns of light on the ceiling until her eyes seem to mist over.

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish

At breakfast, Collins is wearing a patterned turquoise jacket over a matching dress and high-heeled black leather boots.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

But it didn’t bother Wertheim, who has a flair for patterned loafers and wears a signature red fedora.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

"I was less surprised by the differences and more surprised by some of the similarities, particularly in the ways these risks are patterned across settings," Nichols said.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026

Movie theaters with patterned carpeting have been deemed liminal, as have fast-food restaurants, parking garages and malls.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

They had restored the great chandelier, the gilt columns, the finely patterned wallpapers, installing screens where there had been stages.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

"I've been fascinated for a long time by the camouflage and disruptive patterning of moth wings," she added.

From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026

"It's remarkable how mathematical yet another aspect of plant form and patterning turns out to be," Prusinkiewicz adds.

From Science Daily ● May 14, 2026

"The Ediacara Biota look totally bizarre in their appearance. Some of them have triradial symmetry, some have spiraling arms, some have fractal patterning," says Dr. Lidya Tarhan, a paleontologist at Yale University.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 27, 2026

The pictures’ flatly painted skin and two-dimensional patterning in textiles and wallpaper are set into shimmering visual motion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2024

Musicians tend to have greater word memory and more complex neural brain patterning, as well as greater organizational and higher-order executive functioning.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Related Words

• kind
• method
• sequence
• shape
• sort
• style
• system
• type
• variety