Meanings
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1
noun
the craft or method of sewing differently shaped pieces of fabric together into a larger design
She learned patchwork by joining bright cotton scraps into geometric blocks.
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2
noun
a quilt, garment, or other item made from pieces of fabric sewn together
Her grandmother folded the patchwork at the foot of the bed.
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3
noun
a mixture or system assembled from varied, often ill-fitting parts
The final policy was a patchwork of local rules and temporary compromises.
Thesaurus
Etymology
A compound of patch + work. Patch entered Middle English for a piece of material used in mending, while work is inherited from Old English. The literal name for sewing scraps into a whole later broadened to any arrangement made from disparate pieces, especially one lacking a single plan.