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sketch definition

sketch (skec̸h)

noun

  1. a simple, rough drawing or design, done rapidly and without much detail
  2. a brief plan or description of major parts or points; outline
  3. a short, light, informal story, description, play, skit, or piece of music

Etymology: earlier schitz < Du schets < It schizzo < L schedium, extempore poem < Gr schedios, extempore, sudden < schein, to hold: see scheme

transitive verb

to draw or describe quickly or in outline; make a sketch of

intransitive verb

to make a sketch or sketches

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

sketch Synonyms

sketch

n.

  1. A drawing or plan

    portrayal, picture, draft, design, outline, adumbration, form, shape, delineation, drawing, representation, painting, skeleton, figure, figuration, configuration, depiction, illustration, copy, likeness, croquis (French), fashion plate, rough sketch, preliminary sketch, tentative sketch; see also picture 3, plan 1.

  2. A description or plan

    summary, survey, outline, draft; see description 1, plan 1, 2.


sketch

v.

  1. To draw

    paint, describe, depict; see draw 2.

  2. To plan

    outline, chart, draft; see plan 2.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

sketch Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • annotate: Build up a study of annotated sketches, detailed drawings and if possible, take photographs on site.

Adjective modifier

  • biographical: General Sir John Moore - Brief biographical sketch of the general.

Modifies a noun

  • troupe: The Cowards are a four-man sketch troupe who write smart, funny sketches and perform them in jeans and pumps and short-sleeved shirts.

Modifying Another Word

  • freehand: The panel was sketched freehand, paying particular attention to areas of fading, detail or difficulty.

Noun used with modifier

  • thumbnail: She hands over the letters to the women with a thumbnail sketch of the contents of each one.

Preposition: in

  • pencil: Her many paintings, just over 400 in total, were sketched in pencil and then painted with gouache.
sketch usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

sketch quotes

When I set down to make a sketch from nature, the first thing Itry to do istoforgetthat Ihave ever seena picture.

-Constable,John

   When the flush of a new-born sun fell first on Eden's green and gold, Our father Adamsat under theTree and scratched with a stick in the mould; And the first rude sketch that the world had seen was joy to his mighty heart, Till the Devilwhispered behind theleaves,'It'spretty, but is it Art?'

-Kipling, (Joseph) Rudyard

sketch quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"sketch." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/sketch>

APA Style

sketch. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/sketch

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