Illustration of patchwork
- patchwork 2
patchwork
noun
patch·work
ˈpach-ˌwərk 
often attributive
1
: something composed of miscellaneous or incongruous parts : hodgepodge
2
: pieces of cloth of various colors and shapes sewn together to form a covering
also
: something resembling such a covering
a patchwork of fields
Synonyms
- agglomerate
- agglomeration
- alphabet soup
- assortment
- botch
- clutter
- collage
- crazy quilt
- farrago
- gallimaufry
- grab bag
- gumbo
- hash
- hodgepodge
- hotchpotch
- jambalaya
- jumble
- jungle
- litter
- macédoine
- medley
- mélange
- menagerie
- miscellanea
- miscellany
- mishmash
- mixed bag
- montage
- motley
- muddle
- olio
- olla podrida
- omnium-gatherum
- pastiche
- patchwork quilt
- potpourri
- ragbag
- ragout
- rummage
- salad
- salmagundi
- scramble
- shuffle
- smorgasbord
- stew
- tumble
- variety
- welter
Examples of patchwork in a Sentence
The valley is a patchwork of family farms.
A patchwork of laws prevent the land from being developed.
a patchwork system of laws
Recent Examples on the Web
There is good reason to support regulating autonomous vehicles on the state rather than local level, thereby avoiding a confusing patchwork of rules throughout California.
—
Mercury News & East Bay Times Editorial Boards, The Mercury News, 12 Apr. 2024
Disney+, Hulu and Paramount+ have made similar decisions, roiling an already-baffling patchwork of streaming options.
—T.m. Brown, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2024
Read: Joe Biden’s challenge was Barack Obama’s victory Over the next two years, the junta and its proxies battled a sprawling patchwork of resistance forces, including some preexisting armed groups representing ethnic minorities.
—Timothy McLaughlin, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2024
Residents say some roads have become a patchwork of fiefdoms run by armed groups, each wanting to extract payments from passing traffic.
—Katharine Houreld, Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2024
The evidence suggests that the patchwork of doctors, hospitals and insurers that has replaced institutions as people's go-to source for care is falling short, limiting people's independence and harming their health.
—Dan Gorenstein, NPR, 26 Mar. 2024
Some campaigns may need to adopt a hybrid approach based on this patchwork of ballot access requirements.
—Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 21 Mar. 2024
Buttigieg said that the rule was a priority for President Biden and will address the patchwork of differing requirements across states.
—Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 2 Apr. 2024
But the Brazilian government dealt with these things through a patchwork of federal bureaucracies and police agencies, with no force that had both the requisite scientific knowledge and military-style training.
—Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
Mercury News & East Bay Times Editorial Boards, The Mercury News, 12 Apr. 2024
Disney+, Hulu and Paramount+ have made similar decisions, roiling an already-baffling patchwork of streaming options.
—T.m. Brown, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2024
Read: Joe Biden’s challenge was Barack Obama’s victory Over the next two years, the junta and its proxies battled a sprawling patchwork of resistance forces, including some preexisting armed groups representing ethnic minorities.
—Timothy McLaughlin, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2024
Residents say some roads have become a patchwork of fiefdoms run by armed groups, each wanting to extract payments from passing traffic.
—Katharine Houreld, Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2024
The evidence suggests that the patchwork of doctors, hospitals and insurers that has replaced institutions as people's go-to source for care is falling short, limiting people's independence and harming their health.
—Dan Gorenstein, NPR, 26 Mar. 2024
Some campaigns may need to adopt a hybrid approach based on this patchwork of ballot access requirements.
—Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 21 Mar. 2024
Buttigieg said that the rule was a priority for President Biden and will address the patchwork of differing requirements across states.
—Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 2 Apr. 2024
But the Brazilian government dealt with these things through a patchwork of federal bureaucracies and police agencies, with no force that had both the requisite scientific knowledge and military-style training.
—Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'patchwork.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near patchwork
Cite this Entry
“Patchwork.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patchwork. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
patchwork
noun
patch·work
ˈpach-ˌwərk
1
: something made up of various parts
2
: pieces of cloth of various colors and shapes sewn together usually in a pattern
patchwork
adjective
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