readymade

American  

[red-ee-meyd] / ˈrɛd iˈmeɪd /

Or ready-made

noun

1. an everyday manufactured object, as a bottle rack, a snow shovel, a urinal, or a comb, that may by the creative act of selection and designation by an artist attain status as a work of art: associated almost exclusively with the aesthetic activities of Marcel Duchamp during the period 1915 to 1917.

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Etymology

Origin of readymade

< French < English; term introduced by Duchamp in 1915

Example Sentences

It also carries with it a sort of readymade profundity.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025

Up until the 1990s, the readymade garment industry outsourced many tasks to home workers.

From BBC • Jul. 31, 2024

In Højlund, United has opted against a readymade striker who has already established himself at the top of the sport.

From Washington Times • Aug. 5, 2023

For his part, Sugimoto sees “Point of Infinity” not as a sculpture but, nodding to Marcel Duchamp, as a readymade, because it’s based on a mathematical model.

From New York Times • Jun. 9, 2023

Other waiters wore readymade bows attached to elastics.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith