Meaning & use
Art Deco
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Meanings
noununcountable
A decorative style of the 1920s and 1930s that uses bold geometric shapes, sharp angles, and shiny modern materials.
Grammar: Used as a name, so it takes no article and no plural: built in the Art Deco style.
Patterns
- in the Art Deco style
- an Art Deco building
- Art Deco design
The hotel lobby is a fine example of Art Deco, with its chrome rails and stepped mirrors.
They restored the cinema's Art Deco facade, keeping the original geometric patterns.
Her posters borrow the bold lines of Art Deco.
adjectivebefore a noun
Made in or typical of the Art Deco style of the 1920s and 1930s.
Grammar: Comes before the noun and is usually capitalized: an Art Deco lamp.
Patterns
- Art Deco architecture
- an Art Deco lamp
- Art Deco jewellery
She collects Art Deco lamps from flea markets.
The station has an Art Deco clock above the entrance.
They chose Art Deco lettering for the shop sign.
Common combinations
- Art Deco style
- The whole station was rebuilt in the Art Deco style.
- Art Deco architecture
- Miami Beach is famous for its Art Deco architecture.
- an Art Deco building
- An Art Deco building with a curved white front stands on the corner.
- Art Deco design
- The poster shows classic Art Deco design: fans, sunbursts, and straight lines.
- be influenced by Art Deco
- Her jewellery is clearly influenced by Art Deco.
Synonyms and how they differ
- modernist
- A broader term for early twentieth-century design that rejected old ornament; Art Deco is one showy branch of it, so modernist also covers plain, functional buildings.
- retro
- Informal and general, meaning 'imitating an older style'; use retro for anything old-fashioned-looking, but Art Deco only for this specific 1920s–30s look.
Commonly confused: Art Deco or art nouveau?
Art Deco vs art nouveau
Art Nouveau came earlier (about 1890–1910) and uses flowing, plant-like curves, while Art Deco favors straight lines, angles, and geometric patterns.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'Art Deco' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Art Deco' is a singular style name, so it takes 'an' before the vowel sound and no plural or possessive: 'an Art Deco style'. Option 1 uses 'a' before a vowel sound, option 2 wrongly pluralizes it, and option 3 adds a possessive that the name does not take.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Art Deco”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.