readymade

or read·y-made

[ red-ee-meyd ]

/ ˈrɛd iˈmeɪd /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for readymade on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "IS" VS. "ARE"

"Is" it time for a new quiz? "Are" you ready? Then prove your excellent skills on using "is" vs. "are."

Question 1 of 7

IS and ARE are both forms of which verb?

have

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of readymade

<French <English; term introduced by Duchamp in 1915

Words nearby readymade

read the riot act, read-through, read up, read/write head, ready, readymade, ready-mix, ready money, ready reckoner, ready room, ready-to-wear

Origin of ready-made

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use readymade in a sentence

Or maybe it's a kind of remade readymade, and gets its power from using Disney as "serious" contemporary art.
Disney Meets Duchamp|Blake Gopnik|June 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It counts as a readymade, of sorts, because like Duchamp's famous urinal it transplants a functional object into the art world.
Duchamp's Time Machine|Blake Gopnik|May 2, 2012|DAILY BEAST
I think of this piece as a new Duchampian sub-species you might call a "hand-made readymade".
Duchamp's Time Machine|Blake Gopnik|May 2, 2012|DAILY BEAST
They acquire all learning in their mother's womb, and bring it into the world readymade.
The Domestic Life of Thomas Jefferson Compiled From Family Letters and Reminiscences|Sarah N. Randolph

And that was devoted to what—readymade clothes, ski clothes, and that sort of thing?
Warren Commission (9 of 26): Hearings Vol. IX (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
When a readymade definition, admirably rendered, is at your command, why be at the pains of making a new one for yourself?
The Feasts of Autolycus|Elizabeth Robins Pennell
He spent the time surfing readymade coasters and checking the intranet for engineer availability.
Makers|Cory Doctorow
But he couldn't get even the cheapest readymade dress-suit for fourteen dollars.
Seventeen|Booth Tarkington

British Dictionary definitions for readymade

ready-made

adjective

made for purchase and immediate use by any customera ready-made jacket

extremely convenient or ideally suiteda ready-made solution

unoriginal or conventionalready-made phrases

noun

a ready-made article, esp a garment

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012