tapestry
Americannoun
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a fabric consisting of a warp upon which colored threads are woven by hand to produce a design, often pictorial, used for wall hangings, furniture coverings, etc.
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a machine-woven reproduction of this.
verb (used with object)
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to furnish, cover, or adorn with tapestry.
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to represent or depict in a tapestry.
noun
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a heavy ornamental fabric, often in the form of a picture, used for wall hangings, furnishings, etc, and made by weaving coloured threads into a fixed warp
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another word for needlepoint
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a colourful and complicated situation
the rich tapestry of London life
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tapestry
1400–50; late Middle English tapst ( e ) ry, tapistry < Middle French tapisserie carpeting. See tapis, -ery
Explanation
A tapestry is a picture woven into cloth. It's a decorative rug you hang on the wall, with detailed images or designs on it. Some tapestries, like the famous Unicorn Tapestries, tell stories with their pictures. Weaving an image into cloth is a brilliant idea — it makes art accessible and portable. And a tapestry offers something a painting can't: warmth. Think of those cold castle walls in medieval Europe, add a tapestry, and you're warmer already. You can use tapestry to describe anything that's multi-layered and complex, like the tapestry of life in a rural town, or the tapestry of your family history, or the tapestry of plot and character in your favorite novel.
Vocabulary lists containing tapestry
"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
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Other Words for Home
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Medieval Europe - Introductory
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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.
Part of the museum’s expansive textile collection, Rosalena’s 27-foot-long tapestry is woven with hand-weaving patterns using satellite images the artist distorted from planetary terrains from Mars and Earth.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
The trio of colorful and competing events left the city's monument area thronged with tourists, activists and selfie-seekers -- a tapestry of political protest, environmental tourism and family fun.
From Barron's • Mar. 28, 2026
With thrilling stories about ordinary blokes willing some of history’s most beloved music into being, the tapestry of The Beatles is rife with drama and wonder.
From Salon • Feb. 27, 2026
That path to the Super Bowl is woven into the tapestry of great moments in Los Angeles sports.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 19, 2026
But stitch one small thing to another small thing and another, and eventually you have a tapestry as big as the world.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
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.
