pattern

American  

[pat-ern, pat-n] / ˈpæt ərn, ˈpæt n /

noun

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)

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)

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

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

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”; patron

Example Sentences

This method involves repeatedly reflecting geometric shapes across their edges to fill a plane, creating highly ordered and symmetrical patterns.

From Science Daily

Australia's climate has warmed by an average of 1.51C since 1910, researchers have found, fueling increasingly frequent extreme weather patterns over both land and sea.

From Barron's

If the same pattern recurs, employment gains last month could be stronger than expected.

From MarketWatch

They found that neural activity spread from the thalamus into the cortex in wave like patterns, creating synchronized activity across cortical networks.

From Science Daily

They then analyze the simulated wave patterns at seismograph locations and compare them with real seismograms, which are graphical records of ground motion from actual earthquakes.

From Science Daily

Related Words

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