pattern
- 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.
- 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.
- to make or fall into a pattern.
Origin of pattern
Synonyms for pattern
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for patterns
arrangement, sort, style, sequence, variety, system, method, shape, type, kind, standard, trim, motive, diagram, figure, impression, instruction, ornament, guide, decorationExamples from the Web for patterns
Contemporary Examples of patterns
But he resembled by then an ancient Red Indian chief, and his expressions did not follow the patterns of other mortals.
The Stacks: How The Berlin Wall Inspired John le Carré’s First MasterpieceJohn le Carré
November 8, 2014
By the time the police caught up to Sanders, they knew even more about his patterns and practices.
Over time, the patterns of gunplay and stabbings reminded Slutkin of the diseases crossing rural Africa.
Using Strategies Reserved for Disease Outbreak, Activists Try to “Cure” Urban ViolenceSarah Kunst
April 11, 2014
Patterns are created in house, and then the tailors take them home to complete.
A scarf and bag in contrasting shades and patterns enhanced this busy, but feminine, look.
Art Takes the Runway at Burberry Prorsum Fall/Winter 2014 London Fashion WeekLiza Foreman
February 17, 2014
Historical Examples of patterns
The Germans use a greater variety of patterns than any other nation.
The Story of the Invention of Steel PensHenry Bore
He tells me of the patterns bespoken which my mother mentioned to me.'
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)Samuel Richardson
There is something d——d low in cutting about the country with patterns in a bag.'
Tales Of The TrainsCharles James Lever
The Darwinian thread is worked into a hundred patterns along with other threads.
Evolution in Modern ThoughtErnst Haeckel
Without direct evidence, we cannot assign a meaning to the patterns.
The Clyde MysteryAndrew Lang
pattern
1- 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
- (often foll by after or on) to model
- to arrange as or decorate with a pattern
Word Origin for pattern
pattern
2patron
- Irish an outdoor assembly with religious practices, traders' stalls, etc on the feast day of a patron saint
Word Origin for pattern
Word Origin and History for patterns
pattern
early 14c., "outline, plan, model, pattern;" early 15c. as "model of behavior, exemplar," from Old French patron and directly from Medieval Latin patronus (see patron).
Extended sense of "decorative design" first recorded 1580s, from earlier sense of a "patron" as a model to be imitated. The difference in form and sense between patron and pattern wasn't firm till 1700s. Meaning "model or design in dressmaking" (especially one of paper) is first recorded 1792, in Jane Austen.
pattern
1580s, "to make a pattern for, design, plan," from pattern (n.). Meaning "to make something after a pattern" is c.1600. Phrase pattern after "take as a model" is from 1878.