Meaning & use
patchwork quilt
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A bed cover made by sewing together many small pieces of cloth.
Grammar: Countable; plural is patchwork quilts.
Patterns
- make a patchwork quilt
- patchwork quilt of something
My grandmother made a patchwork quilt from old shirts.
The patchwork quilt on the bed was full of bright colors.
She spent months sewing a patchwork quilt for the baby.
nounsingularfigurative
Something that is made up of many different parts or pieces.
Grammar: Used figuratively, often in the pattern 'a patchwork quilt of something'.
Patterns
- a patchwork quilt of something
The city is a patchwork quilt of cultures and languages.
His memoir is a patchwork quilt of memories and recipes.
Word forms
| plural | patchwork quilts |
|---|
Common combinations
- make a patchwork quilt
- They learned to make a patchwork quilt in the craft class.
- handmade patchwork quilt
- The handmade patchwork quilt was a wedding gift.
- patchwork quilt of something
- The neighborhood is a patchwork quilt of different architectural styles.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
Commonly confused: patchwork quilt or comforter?
patchwork quilt vs comforter
A comforter is a thick, puffy bed cover, often not pieced together; a patchwork quilt is specifically made of many small sewn patches.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'patchwork quilt' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A patchwork quilt is a bed cover made of sewn cloth pieces, so 'made from old jeans' fits. The other options treat it as clothing, food, or a vehicle.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “patchwork quilt”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.