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

See Examples For:

readymade

Butterly’s little sculptures, each only a few inches high, often begin with a readymade cast that yields traditional vessel shapes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026

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

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2024

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

You can also build a cage trellis, or use a readymade trellis, as long as it is large enough to accommodate a mature tomato plant and you keep pruning the plant.

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2022

It was a fine readymade one he’d ordered years ago when rich Mr. Sheffield was thought to be dying and didn’t.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns