Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Needlework consisting of varicolored patches of material sewn together, as in a quilt.
- n. A collection of miscellaneous or incongruous parts; a jumble.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Work composed of pieces of various colors or figures sewed together, especially a combination of many small pieces of stuff, sewed together edge to edge, to form a curtain, bedspread, or the like.
- n. Work composed of pieces clumsily put together; anything formed of ill-assorted parts.
Wiktionary
- n. A work, such as a blanket, composed of many different colors and shapes, sewn together to make an interesting whole.
- n. Any kind of creation that utilizes many different aspects to create one, whole piece.
- v. To create a patchwork from pieces of fabric
- v. To assemble from a variety of sources; to cobble together
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Work composed of pieces sewed together, esp. pieces of various colors and figures; hence, anything put together of incongruous or ill-adapted parts; something irregularly or clumsily composed; a thing patched up.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a theory or argument made up of miscellaneous or incongruous ideas
- n. sewing consisting of pieces of different materials sewn together in a pattern
- n. a quilt made by sewing patches of different materials together
Examples
“To describe existing federal policies and regulatory approaches on obesity as a patchwork is an insult to quilts everywhere.”
“In a direct swipe at his brother, Ed, who used a Guardian article on Monday to lambast Nick Clegg for selling out Liberal principles, the shadow foreign secretary will criticise what he calls a patchwork approach to building electoral support.”
The Guardian: David Miliband takes 'comfort zone' swipe at Ed in Labour leadership fight
“Barack Obama wants the Federal Reserve to have more authority over regulating financial insitutions, reducing what he calls the patchwork of regulatory authorities that contributed to this crisis.”
“He called the patchwork of transportation modes he used this week—driving, taking the PATH train and riding on NJ Transit—a lesson in "creative commuting.”
“The uneven contrasting patchwork is a little surprising.”
“Etsy seller Takeahalliday's "Human Anatomy Science Patchwork T-Shirt" uses "different colored and textured fabric used in patchwork to represent the different human organs and rib cage.”
“Seeing that patchwork is "in" this season, I thought I'd try my hand at making a patchwork purse, since I can't decide on a color.”
“Making patchwork is likewise a quiet amusement; and if a child is taught to fit it herself, it may be made really useful.”
“Some kind of patchwork, which is almost completely ineffective, goes on.”
“Having largely avoided the global financial crisis, Australia is being torn between a red hot mining boom and a surging currency that is hammering the manufacturing, retail and tourism industries, creating what the government describes as a "patchwork" economy.”
The Wall Street Journal: Gillard Faces Big Test in Australian Budget Battle
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘patchwork’.
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Gesundheit
Words that sound like sneezes
zucchini, zoology, wysiwyg, woodchuck, withhold, wichita, vacuum, twelfth, syzygy, synchronous, swatch, supersede and 120 more...
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Beautiful Compound Words
aftermath, afterthought, butterfly, campfire, colorblind, backhand, crossword, cupcake, dollhouse, drawbridge, dreadlock, dreamscape and 73 more...
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Quilt Designs
log cabin, bear claw, double wedding ring, amish diamond center, flower basket, pinwheel, irish chain, lone star, broken star, drunkard's path, nine patch, flying geese and 84 more...
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Amalgamations
Words that have been smashed together.
keystone, touchstone, footprint, thunderhead, seesaw, textbook, leftovers, watchword, afterbirth, fieldwork, outcast, statesman and 148 more...
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colleen's words
yellow, green, pie, blue, fur, people, incense, book, brown, avuncular, mountain, fog and 1316 more...
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Gil Blas
Interesting words and usages from Smollett's 1749 translation of Lesage's L'Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane
reck, durance, rhodomontade, hangdog, trap, lustre, pin, boggle, dandle, birthday suit, colic, gripes and 238 more...
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hauntedtapedeck's Words
hinterland, palimpsest, palisade, thaumaturgy, sangfroid, frisson, crick, patchwork, susurration, disconsolate, septum, elbow and 119 more...
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Collagency ✂
Comparing images, cut-up, and mixing meaning.
clusterfuck, fungible, juxtaposition, assemblage, cut, paste, arrangement, theme, symbolism, association, amalgam, represtational and 110 more...
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Into the mix
A medley of mixtures, mostly ones where the constituents are still distinct. I tagged kinds of stew.
mixture, commixture, admixture, intermixture, intermingling, commingling, mingling, marriage, union, integration, syncretion, permutation and 129 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, P
pellucid, pertain, pampas, prate, pinecone, philistine, pantocrator, papaverine, postmeridian, potlatch, pharology, pinniped and 622 more...
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Clothing&Textiles
argyle, buff, slip, purl, doff, skein, gossamer, tippet, pelisse, particoloured, stola, coronet and 46 more...
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WordWorks
artwork, brainworker, brickwork, bridgework, brushwork, casework, clockwork, counterwork, coursework, craftwork, deadworks, deskwork and 68 more...
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arts and crafty
I so desperately want a craft room.
sew, scissors, fabric, bobbin, vellum, cardstock, sticker, exacto, glue, glue stick, yarn, string and 81 more...
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titles
inspire.
ephemera, imperfect, fracture, Myrmidon, patchwork, minus, aboveboard, aggregate
Tweets
Looking for tweets for patchwork.
reesetee Second definition: WeirdNet! Oct 9, 2008
yarb I began musing on the state of my affairs, which were sufficiently out at elbows to require all my skill in patch-work, but the time for reflection as well as for repentance were cut short.
- Lesage, The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane, tr. Smollett, bk 10 ch. 12 Oct 9, 2008