'Pattern' definitions:

Definition of 'pattern'

(from WordNet)
noun
A perceptual structure; "the composition presents problems for students of musical form"; "a visual pattern must include not only objects but the spaces between them" [syn: form, shape, pattern]
noun
A customary way of operation or behavior; "it is their practice to give annual raises"; "they changed their dietary pattern" [syn: practice, pattern]
noun
A decorative or artistic work; "the coach had a design on the doors" [syn: design, pattern, figure]
noun
Something regarded as a normative example; "the convention of not naming the main character"; "violence is the rule not the exception"; "his formula for impressing visitors" [syn: convention, normal, pattern, rule, formula]
noun
A model considered worthy of imitation; "the American constitution has provided a pattern for many republics"
noun
Something intended as a guide for making something else; "a blueprint for a house"; "a pattern for a skirt" [syn: blueprint, design, pattern]
noun
The path that is prescribed for an airplane that is preparing to land at an airport; "the traffic patterns around O'Hare are very crowded"; "they stayed in the pattern until the fog lifted" [syn: traffic pattern, approach pattern, pattern]
noun
Graphical representation (in polar or Cartesian coordinates) of the spatial distribution of radiation from an antenna as a function of angle [syn: radiation pattern, radiation diagram, pattern]
verb
Plan or create according to a model or models [syn: model, pattern]
verb
Form a pattern; "These sentences pattern like the ones we studied before"

Definition of 'Pattern'

From: GCIDE
  • Pattern \Pat"tern\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Patterned; p. pr. & vb. n. Patterning.]
  • 1. To make or design (anything) by, from, or after, something that serves as a pattern; to copy; to model; to imitate. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
  • [A temple] patterned from that which Adam reared in Paradise. --Sir T. Herbert. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. To serve as an example for; also, to parallel. [1913 Webster]
  • To pattern after, to imitate; to follow. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Pattern'

From: GCIDE
  • Pattern \Pat"tern\, n. [OE. patron, F. patron, a patron, also, a pattern. See Patron.]
  • 1. Anything proposed for imitation; an archetype; an exemplar; that which is to be, or is worthy to be, copied or imitated; as, a pattern of a machine. [1913 Webster]
  • I will be the pattern of all patience. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. A part showing the figure or quality of the whole; a specimen; a sample; an example; an instance. [1913 Webster]
  • He compares the pattern with the whole piece. --Swift. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. Stuff sufficient for a garment; as, a dress pattern. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. Figure or style of decoration; design; as, wall paper of a beautiful pattern. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. Something made after a model; a copy. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • The patterns of things in the heavens. --Heb. ix. 23. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. Anything cut or formed to serve as a guide to cutting or forming objects; as, a dressmaker's pattern. [1913 Webster]
  • 7. (Founding) A full-sized model around which a mold of sand is made, to receive the melted metal. It is usually made of wood and in several parts, so as to be removed from the mold without injuring it. [1913 Webster]
  • 8. a recognizable characteristic relationship or set of relationships between the members of any set of objects or actions, or the properties of the members; also, the set having a definable relationship between its members. [PJC]
  • Note: Various collections of objects or markings are spoken of as a pattern. Thus: the distribution of bomb or shell impacts on a target area, or of bullet holes in a target; a set of traits or actions that appear to be consistent throughout the members of a group or over time within a group, as behavioral pattern, traffic pattern, dress pattern; the wave pattern for a spoken word; the pattern of intensities in a spectrum; a grammatical pattern. [PJC]
  • 9. (Gun.) A diagram showing the distribution of the pellets of a shotgun on a vertical target perpendicular to the plane of fire. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
  • 10. the recommended flight path for an airplane to follow as it approaches an airport for a landing. Same as {landing pattern}. [PJC]
  • 11. an image or diagram containing lines, usually horizontal, vertical, and diagonal, sometimes of varying widths, used to test the resolution of an optical instrument or the accuracy of reproduction of image copying or transmission equipment. Same as test pattern. [PJC]
  • pattern box, pattern chain, or pattern cylinder (Figure Weaving), devices, in a loom, for presenting several shuttles to the picker in the proper succession for forming the figure.
  • Pattern card. (a) A set of samples on a card. (b) (Weaving) One of the perforated cards in a Jacquard apparatus.
  • Pattern reader, one who arranges textile patterns.
  • Pattern wheel (Horology), a count-wheel. [1913 Webster]

Synonyms of 'pattern'

From: Moby Thesaurus