quilt
Americannoun
-
quilts
plural
-
a coverlet for a bed, made of two layers of fabric with some soft substance, as wool or down, between them and stitched in patterns or tufted through all thicknesses in order to prevent the filling from shifting.
-
anything quilted or resembling a quilt.
-
a bedspread or counterpane, especially a thick one.
-
Obsolete. a mattress.
verb (used with object)
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quilts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
quilted,
past participle, past
-
quilting
present participle
-
to stitch together (two pieces of cloth and a soft interlining), usually in an ornamental pattern.
-
to sew up between pieces of material.
-
to pad or line with material.
verb (used without object)
-
quilts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
quilted,
past participle, past
-
quilting
present participle
noun
-
a thick warm cover for a bed, consisting of a soft filling sewn between two layers of material, usually with crisscross seams
-
a bedspread or counterpane
-
anything quilted or resembling a quilt
verb
-
to stitch together (two pieces of fabric) with (a thick padding or lining) between them
to quilt cotton and wool
-
to create (a garment, covering, etc) in this way
-
to pad with material
-
informal to strike; clout
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
quiltsimple
-
quiltssimple
-
have quiltedperfect
-
has quiltedperfect
-
am quiltingprogressive
-
are quiltingprogressive
-
is quiltingprogressive
-
have been quiltingperfect progressive
-
has been quiltingperfect progressive
Past
-
quiltedsimple
-
had quiltedperfect
-
was quiltingprogressive
-
were quiltingprogressive
-
had been quiltingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of quilt
1250–1300; Middle English quilte < Old French cuilte < Latin culcita mattress, cushion
Explanation
A quilt is a thick cover for a bed, made from pieces of fabric that are stitched together and filled with padding. Quilt is also a verb, so you can quilt a quilt. The simplest quilts have two layers of fabric that are sewn on either side of a layer of batting, a thin type of stuffing. Patchwork quilts have small pieces of cotton sewn into patterns, and the fabric is sewn over the batting with stitches that make decorative designs. A quilt was originally the same thing as a mattress, and the word comes from the Latin culcita, "mattress or bolster."
Vocabulary lists containing quilt
This Week In Words: April 26–May 2, 2020
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Scrabble: Words that Begin with Q
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The Road to Freedom
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
That first week, we had a TV and a kind of makeshift conversation pit: a quilt, a mattress, some pillows.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026
We’re a quilt of positive and negative traits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026
In college, I found a treadle machine in an empty dorm room, oiled it and made a blouse and quilt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
Husband said fans often looked like a "patchwork quilt" with different colours of shirts in the stands but were brought together by the national dress.
From BBC ● Mar. 24, 2026
After the party was over and most of the kids had gone home, Erlan and I hung out in the quilt fort in his bedroom and played Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robots.
From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
"The sheets I laid, the quilts I covered, and the clothes I wore were all covered with piles of patches," said Xu.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
John Trumbull’s iconic paintings of the Revolution are joined by historic printings, weapons, pottery, quilts and more in a patriotic display that shows how these creators shaped a visual history of the young country.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026
In the bottom of a chest of quilts were nestled her collection of mugs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
The long hallway ends at the laundry room and is lined with her colorful quilts, some of which are mounted on Homasote board, along with weavings and stitched works, which, like her cooking, are improvisational.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2025
Soon after it gets dark, we lay out our quilts and blankets around the blaze and settle down for the night.
From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell
Case in point: the featherweight quilted Celestia jacket with a highly reflective shell that, according to the designer, “comes alive with motion.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
I sewed and quilted through adult life, but retirement has stepped up my game.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
Kidman's Australian compatriot and fellow actress Margot Robbie took time to pose in front of the catwalk, wearing a loose black quilted bomber jacket over a black bralette top, paired with wide-leg black trousers.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2025
You see, vatnik originally referred to a quilted cotton jacket, the kind worn by Soviet workers, soldiers and prisoners alike.
From Salon ● Mar. 29, 2025
Day after day the skies quilted over and the houses of Phippsburg shivered and croodled together and the rain spilled down onto leaves that hung brown and heavy with the wet.
From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt
She has joined a quilting club, found a church community and has a dedicated exercise routine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026
For example, quilting has long been a domestically appropriate medium for women to express their political beliefs, well before they had the right to vote.
From Slate ● Jan. 29, 2026
"It wasn’t her family pictures, it wasn't her jewellery, it was her quilting."
From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2024
Pick up fabric at quilting shops or yarn at artisan fiber stores with rentable weaving looms.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 25, 2023
Also, Abby’s mom announced a quilting contest in the article.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
