quilt

American  

[kwilt] / kwɪlt /

noun

• quilts
  plural

1. 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.

2. anything quilted or resembling a quilt.

3. a bedspread or counterpane, especially a thick one.

4. Obsolete. a mattress.

---

verb (used with object)

• quilts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• quilted,
  past participle,  past
• quilting
  present participle

1. to stitch together (two pieces of cloth and a soft interlining), usually in an ornamental pattern.

2. to sew up between pieces of material.

3. to pad or line with material.

verb (used without object)

• quilts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• quilted,
  past participle,  past
• quilting
  present participle

1. to make quilts or quilted work.

quilt British  

/ kwɪlt /

noun

1. a thick warm cover for a bed, consisting of a soft filling sewn between two layers of material, usually with crisscross seams

2. a bedspread or counterpane

3. anything quilted or resembling a quilt

---

verb

1. to stitch together (two pieces of fabric) with (a thick padding or lining) between them

   to quilt cotton and wool

2. to create (a garment, covering, etc) in this way

3. to pad with material

4. informal to strike; clout

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• quilter
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• quilts
  plural

Participles

• quilting
  present
• quilted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• quilt
  simple
• quilts
  simple
• have quilted
  perfect
• has quilted
  perfect
• am quilting
  progressive
• are quilting
  progressive
• is quilting
  progressive
• have been quilting
  perfect progressive
• has been quilting
  perfect progressive

Past

• quilted
  simple
• had quilted
  perfect
• was quilting
  progressive
• were quilting
  progressive
• had been quilting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will quilt
  simple
• will have quilted
  perfect
• will be quilting
  progressive
• will have been quilting
  perfect progressive

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

quilt quilts quilted quilting

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

And then we see a quilt stitched by the inmates of H.M.P.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026

I don’t know what to call the music I’m making because it’s such a sonic quilt.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 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

She took out a quilt square from her pocket and stepped out of the cage, interrupting them.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

"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

Patriotic 20th-century snapshots; souvenirs from the 1876 centennial; numerous depictions of Washington; flags; eagles and more join quilts, historical documents, paintings, toys and other works from 1776 to the present.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 8, 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 her bedroom, a coverlet that Weiss assembled from vintage quilts adorns the bed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2025

She made clothes for her five daughters throughout their lifetimes, and she also made curtains for the windows and sewed quilts for the beds.

From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry

The doorbell went again and a walking sculpture dressed in an Anne Boleyn-style quilted dress with beaded face mask appeared.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

Domingo arrives in the club’s lush courtyard garden sporting an olive-colored quilted Moncler padded shirt jacket over black bib Carhartt overalls and a black Valentino T-shirt, with a red neckerchief.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026

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

Fabrics are variously folded like origami, appliqued, quilted, embroidered, beaded, gathered, pleated, printed, felted, dyed, etched, lasered and layered.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2025

Tyrion garbed in heavy quilted breeches and a woolen doublet, and over it all he had thrown the shadowskin cloak he had acquired in the Mountains of the Moon.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

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

Adorned with shimmering squares of fabric, it echoes quilting traditions while reinventing the traditional women’s work of sewing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026

"It wasn’t her family pictures, it wasn't her jewellery, it was her quilting."

From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2024

Repurposing fabric — from tattered blankets, frayed rags, stained clothes — is a central ethos of the community’s quilting practice, which resists commodification.

From Seattle Times ● May 10, 2024

Knitting supplies were mixed with quilting supplies, a scissors display was smack in the middle of a rack of corduroy, and the aisles turned and twisted rather than running in straight lines.

From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry

Related Words

• bedspread
• blanket
• comforter