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Meaning & use

sketching

noun, verb·Everyday

Last updated

UK/ˈsketʃɪŋ/
US/ˈsketʃɪŋ/

“sketching” is a form of “sketch”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.

Meanings

  1. noununcountable

    The activity or art of making quick, rough drawings.

    Grammar: Uncountable when it means the activity: 'I enjoy sketching.' Do not say 'a sketching' for the activity.

    Patterns

    • enjoy sketching
    • do some sketching
    • sketching class

    She spends her weekends sketching in the park.

    Sketching is a good way to relax and improve your eye for detail.

    He took up sketching after he retired and now fills notebooks with drawings.

  2. verbtransitive or intransitive

    Present participle of sketch: making a quick, rough drawing of someone or something.

    Grammar: Can take an object ('sketching the view') or stand alone ('she sat sketching'). It is used in progressive tenses and as a participle.

    Patterns

    • be sketching something
    • sit sketching
    • start sketching

    He is sketching the old bridge before the light fades.

    They were sketching each other while they waited for the train.

    I saw her sketching in the corner of the café.

Word forms

base formsketch
third person singularsketches
past tensesketched
past participlesketched
plural (noun)sketchings

Common combinations

sketching class
She signed up for a sketching class at the community center.
do some sketching
We did some sketching by the river in the afternoon.
pencil sketching
Pencil sketching is the first thing they teach in the course.
sketching from life
Sketching from life is harder than copying a photo.

Synonyms and how they differ

drawing
Drawing is the general word for making pictures with lines; sketching usually suggests something quicker and rougher.
doodling
Doodling is drawing without a plan, often while bored; sketching is more deliberate and often done to capture a subject.

Word family

sketch noun
A quick, rough drawing or a short comic scene.
sketch verb
To make a quick, rough drawing.
sketchy adjective
Not detailed, or (informally) seeming unsafe or unreliable.
sketcher noun
A person who sketches.

Commonly confused: sketching or sketching vs. sketching?

sketching vs sketching vs. sketching

No real confusion; just remember the 'tch' spelling, as in 'watch' and 'kitchen'.

Practice

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