English
pattern
Pronunciation
  • (British) IPA: /ˈpat(ə)n/, [ˈpaʔ(ə)n]
  • (America) IPA: /ˈpætəɹn/, [ˈpæɾɚn]
Noun

pattern (plural patterns)

  1. Model, example.
    1. Something from which a copy is made; a model or outline. [from 14th c.]
      • 1923, ‘President Wilson’, Time, 18 Jun 1923:
        There is no reason why all colleges and universities should be cut to the same pattern.
    2. Someone or something seen as an example to be imitated; an exemplar. [from 15th c.]
      • 1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, I.16:
        The Platonic Socrates was a pattern to subsequent philosophers for many ages.
    3. (now rare) A copy. [from 15th c.]
    4. (now only numismatics) A sample; of coins, an example which was struck but never minted. [from 16th c.]
    5. A representative example. [from 16th c.]
    6. (US) The material needed to make a piece of clothing. [from 17th c.]
    7. (textiles) The paper or cardboard template from which the parts of a garment are traced onto fabric prior to cutting out and assembling.
    8. (metalworking, dated) A full-sized model around which a mould of sand is made, to receive the melted metal. It is usually made of wood and in several parts, so as to be removed from the mould without damage.
    9. (computing) A text string containing wildcards, used for matching.
      There were no files matching the pattern *.txt.
  2. A design, motif or decoration, especially formed from regular repeated elements. [from 16th c.]
    • 2003, Valentino, ‘Is there a future in fashion's past?’, Time, 5 Feb 2003:
      On my way to work the other day, I stopped at a church in Rome and saw a painting of the Madonna. The subtle pattern of blues and golds in the embroidery of her dress was so amazing that I used it to design a new evening dress for my haute couture.
  3. A naturally-occurring or random arrangement of shapes, colours etc. which have a regular or decorative effect. [from 19th c.]
    • 2011, Rachel Cooke, The Observer, 19 Jun 2011:
      He lifted the entire joint or fowl up into the air, speared on a carving fork, and sliced pieces off it so that they fell on the plate below in perfectly organised patterns.
  4. The given spread, range etc. of shot fired from a gun. [from 19th c.]
  5. A particular sequence of events, facts etc. which can be understood, used to predict the future, or seen to have a mathematical, geometric, statistical etc. relationship. [from 19th c.]
    • 1980, ‘Shifting Targets’, Time, 6 Oct 1980:
      The three killings pointed to an ugly new shift in the enduring pattern of violence in Northern Ireland: the mostly Protestant Ulster police, or those suspected of affiliation with them, have become more prominent targets for the I.R.A. than the British troops.
    • 2003, Kate Hudson, The Guardian, 14 Aug 2003:
      Look again at how the US and its allies behaved then, and the pattern is unmistakable.
  6. (linguistics) An intelligible arrangement in a given area of language.
  7. (computing, music) A sequence of notes, percussion etc. in a tracker module, usable once or many times within the song.
Synonyms Antonyms Translations Translations Translations Verb

pattern (patterns, present participle patterning; past and past participle patterned)

  1. To apply a pattern.
  2. To make or design (anything) by, from, or after, something that serves as a pattern; to copy; to model; to imitate.
    • [A temple] patterned from that which Adam reared in Paradise.
  3. To follow an example.
  4. To fit into a pattern.
  5. (transitive) To serve as an example for.
Synonyms Translations

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