PATTERN

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does pattern mean? 

• PATTERN (noun)
  The noun PATTERN has 8 senses:

1. a perceptual structure

2. a customary way of operation or behavior

3. a decorative or artistic work

4. something regarded as a normative example

5. a model considered worthy of imitation

6. something intended as a guide for making something else

7. the path that is prescribed for an airplane that is preparing to land at an airport

8. graphical representation (in polar or Cartesian coordinates) of the spatial distribution of radiation from an antenna as a function of angle

  Familiarity information: PATTERN used as a noun is common.

• PATTERN (verb)
  The verb PATTERN has 2 senses:

1. plan or create according to a model or models

2. form a pattern

  Familiarity information: PATTERN used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PATTERN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A perceptual structure

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

form; pattern; shape

Context example:

a visual pattern must include not only objects but the spaces between them

Hypernyms ("pattern" is a kind of...):

structure (the complex composition of knowledge as elements and their combinations)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pattern"):

fractal ((mathematics) a geometric pattern that is repeated at every scale and so cannot be represented by classical geometry)

gestalt (a configuration or pattern of elements so unified as a whole that it cannot be described merely as a sum of its parts)

grid (a pattern of regularly spaced horizontal and vertical lines)

kaleidoscope (a complex pattern of constantly changing colors and shapes)

mosaic (a pattern resembling a mosaic)

strand (a pattern forming a unity within a larger structural whole)

Holonyms ("pattern" is a part of...):

percept; perception; perceptual experience (the representation of what is perceived; basic component in the formation of a concept)

Derivation:

pattern (form a pattern)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A customary way of operation or behavior

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

pattern; practice

Context example:

they changed their dietary pattern

Hypernyms ("pattern" is a kind of...):

activity (any specific behavior)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pattern"):

cooperation (the practice of cooperating)

biologism (use of biological principles in explaining human especially social behavior)

cross dressing; transvestism; transvestitism (the practice of adopting the clothes or the manner or the sexual role of the opposite sex)

systematism (the habitual practice of systematization and classification)

naturism; nudism (going without clothes as a social practice)

ritualism (exaggerated emphasis on the importance of rites or ritualistic forms in worship)

ritual (the prescribed procedure for conducting religious ceremonies)

quotation (the practice of quoting from books or plays etc.)

papism; popery (offensive terms for the practices and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church)

calisthenics; callisthenics (the practice of calisthenic exercises)

nonconformism (the practice of nonconformity)

mistreatment (the practice of treating (someone or something) badly)

lynch law (the practice of punishing people by hanging without due process of law)

unwritten law (law based on customary behavior)

peonage (the practice of making a debtor work for his creditor until the debt is discharged)

slaveholding; slavery (the practice of owning slaves)

fashion (characteristic or habitual practice)

featherbedding (the practice (usually by a labor union) of requiring an employer to hire more workers than are required)

formalism (the practice of scrupulous adherence to prescribed or external forms)

one-upmanship (the practice of keeping one jump ahead of a friend or competitor)

pluralism (the practice of one person holding more than one benefice at a time)

symbolisation; symbolism; symbolization (the practice of investing things with symbolic meaning)

modernism (practices typical of contemporary life or thought)

ornamentalism (the practice of ornamental display)

cannibalism (the practice of eating the flesh of your own kind)

careerism (the practice of advancing your career at the expense of your personal integrity)

custom; usage; usance (accepted or habitual practice)

habitude (habitual mode of behavior)

lobbyism (the practice of lobbying; the activities of a lobbyist)

occult; occult arts (supernatural practices and techniques)

Derivation:

pattern (form a pattern)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A decorative or artistic work

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

design; figure; pattern

Context example:

the coach had a design on the doors

Hypernyms ("pattern" is a kind of...):

decoration; ornament; ornamentation (something used to beautify)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pattern"):

polka dot (design consisting of a pattern of regularly spaced circular spots)

pyrograph (a design produced by pyrography)

screen saver ((computer science) a moving design that appears on a computer screen when there has been no input for a specified period of time)

sunburst (a design consisting of a central disk resembling the sun and rays emanating from it)

tattoo (a design on the skin made by tattooing)

tetraskele; tetraskelion (a figure consisting of four stylized human arms or legs (or bent lines) radiating from a center)

triskele; triskelion (a figure consisting of three stylized human arms or legs (or three bent lines) radiating from a center)

weave (pattern of weaving or structure of a fabric)

bear claw (an incised design resembling the claw of a bear; used in Native American pottery)

marking (a pattern of marks)

mihrab ((Islam) a design in the shape of niche in a Muslim prayer rug; during worship the niche must be pointed toward Mecca)

mandala (any of various geometric designs (usually circular) symbolizing the universe; used chiefly in Hinduism and Buddhism as an aid to meditation)

linocut (a design carved in relief into a block of linoleum)

herringbone; herringbone pattern (a pattern of columns of short parallel lines with all the lines in one column sloping one way and lines in adjacent columns sloping the other way; it is used in weaving, masonry, parquetry, embroidery)

emblem (special design or visual object representing a quality, type, group, etc.)

device (any ornamental pattern or design (as in embroidery))

decal; decalcomania (either a design that is fixed to some surface or a paper bearing the design which is to be transferred to the surface)

damascene (a design produced by inlaying gold or silver into steel)

argyle; argyll (a design consisting of a pattern of varicolored diamonds on a solid background (originally for knitted articles); patterned after the tartan of a clan in western Scotland)

motif; motive (a design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decoration)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Something regarded as a normative example

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

convention; formula; normal; pattern; rule

Context example:

his formula for impressing visitors

Hypernyms ("pattern" is a kind of...):

practice (knowledge of how something is usually done)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pattern"):

code of behavior; code of conduct (a set of conventional principles and expectations that are considered binding on any person who is a member of a particular group)

universal (a behavioral convention or pattern characteristic of all members of a particular culture or of all human beings)

mores ((sociology) the conventions that embody the fundamental values of a group)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A model considered worthy of imitation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

the American constitution has provided a pattern for many republics

Hypernyms ("pattern" is a kind of...):

example; exemplar; good example; model (something to be imitated)

Derivation:

pattern (plan or create according to a model or models)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Something intended as a guide for making something else

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

blueprint; design; pattern

Context example:

a pattern for a skirt

Hypernyms ("pattern" is a kind of...):

plan; program; programme (a series of steps to be carried out or goals to be accomplished)

Derivation:

pattern (plan or create according to a model or models)

Sense 7

Meaning:

The path that is prescribed for an airplane that is preparing to land at an airport

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

approach pattern; pattern; traffic pattern

Context example:

they stayed in the pattern until the fog lifted

Hypernyms ("pattern" is a kind of...):

itinerary; path; route (an established line of travel or access)

Meronyms (parts of "pattern"):

approach; approach path; glide path; glide slope (the final path followed by an aircraft as it is landing)

Derivation:

pattern (form a pattern)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Graphical representation (in polar or Cartesian coordinates) of the spatial distribution of radiation from an antenna as a function of angle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

pattern; radiation diagram; radiation pattern

Hypernyms ("pattern" is a kind of...):

graph; graphical record; graphical recording (a visual representation of the relations between certain quantities, represented as points, plotted with reference to a set of axes)

Meronyms (parts of "pattern"):

lobe (the enhanced response of an antenna in a given direction as indicated by a loop in its radiation pattern)

• PATTERN (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they pattern    ... he / she / it patterns   
Past simple: patterned   
Past participle: patterned   
-ing form: patterning   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Plan or create according to a model or models

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Synonyms:

model; pattern

Hypernyms (to "pattern" is one way to...):

copy; imitate; simulate (reproduce someone's behavior or looks)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pattern"):

scale (pattern, make, regulate, set, measure, or estimate according to some rate or standard)

sovietise; sovietize (model a country's social, political, and economic structure on the Soviet Union)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

pattern (something intended as a guide for making something else)

pattern (a model considered worthy of imitation)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Form a pattern

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

These sentences pattern like the ones we studied before

Hypernyms (to "pattern" is one way to...):

agree; check; correspond; fit; gibe; jibe; match; tally (be compatible, similar or consistent; coincide in their characteristics)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

pattern (a customary way of operation or behavior)

pattern (a perceptual structure)

pattern (the path that is prescribed for an airplane that is preparing to land at an airport)

 Context examples 

A benign or malignant glandular epithelial neoplasm consisting of secretory cells forming acinar patterns.

(Acinar Cell Neoplasm, NCI Thesaurus)

An invasive adenocarcinoma characterized by the presence of focal or extensive neurosecretory cell differentiation with the formation of organoid patterns.

(Adenocarcinoma with Neuroendocrine Differentiation, NCI Thesaurus)

Three morphologic patterns are seen: cribriform, trabecular, and solid.

(Adenoid Cystic Breast Carcinoma, NCI Thesaurus)

Microscopically, a characteristic nesting (zellballen) growth pattern is usually seen.

(Adrenal Gland Pheochromocytoma, NCI Thesaurus)

A benign glandular epithelial neoplasm consisting of secretory cells forming acinar patterns.

(Acinar Cell Adenoma, NCI Thesaurus)

The process of adopting the traits or social patterns of a different population group.

(Acculturation, NCI Thesaurus)

They tested several 3-D scaffold patterns with different surface areas.

(3-D gel-nanoparticle device detoxifies blood, NIH)

It is an unusual pattern compared with other rivers.

(Amazon fish ‘face new threats’, SciDev.Net)

The pattern of an adverse event.

(Adverse Event Pattern, NCI Thesaurus)

Analysis of the RNA expression pattern in a tissue sample using molecular techniques.

(Molecular Profiling, NCI Thesaurus)