1 the regular way in which sth happens or is done:
changing patterns of behaviour / work / weather * an irregular sleeping pattern * The murders all seem to follow a (similar) pattern (= happen in the same way).
2 [usuallysing.] an excellent example to copy:
This system sets the pattern for others to follow.
3 a regular arrangement of lines, shapes, colours, etc. as a design on material, carpets, etc:
a pattern of diamonds and squares * a shirt with a floral pattern
4 a design, set of instructions or shape to cut around that you use in order to make sth:
a knitting pattern * She bought a dress pattern and some material.
5 a small piece of material, paper, etc. that helps you choose the design of sth
SYNSAMPLE:
wallpaper patterns
verb [VN]
1 (written) to form a regular arrangement of lines or shapes on sth:
Frost patterned the window. * a landscape patterned by vineyards
2 (technical) to cause a particular type of behaviour to develop:
Adult behaviour is often patterned by childhood experiences.
PHRASALVERBS
pattern sth on sth (BrE) (AmE pattern sth after sth) [usuallypassive] to use sth as a model for sth; to copy sth:
a new approach patterned on Japanese ideas
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About this entry
This is a English–English dictionary entry.
Sourced from Main Dictionary in Lughet's collection.
This word also appears under other sources in Lughet's collection — see the list below.
This entry for pattern is sourced from Main Dictionary, one of the dictionaries and corpora merged into Lughet.
Is pattern a noun, verb, or something else?
In this entry, pattern is tagged as noun.
Does pattern appear elsewhere on Lughet?
Yes — pattern appears under other sources or language pairs in Lughet's collection. See the list below.
What is Lughet?
Lughet is a free trilingual dictionary covering nearly five million entries across Uyghur, Chinese, and English, drawn from more than ten source dictionaries and corpora.
