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.
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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
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
Finally she took her quilt and went into Mom’s room.
From "I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980" by Lauren Tarshis
It educates us in many arcane worlds of arts and crafts, quilts, chairs, pickle crocks and other items whose value really can be in the eye of the beholder.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 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 2017, his mother, Cleobelle Pollock, encouraged him to attend the Echo Park Craft Fair, where she planned to sell Indian Kantha quilts and textiles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2025
Ella spread one of Gran’s quilts over her bed, then fluffed the pillow.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
I sewed and quilted through adult life, but retirement has stepped up my game.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
So Yulia now lives in a long, quilted coat and hat in her flat, and rests her feet on a saucepan-full of hot water to keep them from freezing.
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 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
He leans slightly toward his longtime comedy partner, who provides a colorful counterpoint in a quilted zip-front jacket covered in a riot of paisley patterns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2025
She donned thick black breeches, a quilted tunic, and a green leather jerkin covered with overlapping plates of steel.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Perhaps that is because while I was teaching and teaching teachers, I also had my side gigs—entertaining big groups, experimenting in the kitchen, a quilting group.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 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
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
Every other Thursday after supper, Mrs. Nielsen and I join Mrs. Murphy and six other ladies at a quilting group.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
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.
