sketch

1 of 2

noun

1
a
: a rough drawing representing the chief features of an object or scene and often made as a preliminary study
b
: a tentative draft (as for a literary work)
2
: a brief description (as of a person) or outline
3
a
: a short literary composition somewhat resembling the short story and the essay but intentionally slight in treatment, discursive in style, and familiar in tone
b
: a short instrumental composition usually for piano
c
: a slight theatrical piece having a single scene
especially : a comic variety act

sketch

2 of 2

verb

sketched; sketching; sketches

transitive verb

: to make a sketch, rough draft, or outline of

intransitive verb

: to draw or paint a sketch
sketcher noun

Examples of sketch in a Sentence

Noun He made a sketch of his house. He wrote up a sketch of the plot. There is a biographical sketch of the author on the book's back cover. Verb He sketched the trees outside his window. He likes to sit outside and sketch. She sketched the plan for us.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
On one of the worktables near a sewing machine is a sketch of a pink vest and pants set that were recently constructed for a photo shoot. Thr Staff, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Mar. 2024 Meyers noted that the sketch still made the show despite not playing particularly well at dress rehearsal. EW.com, 5 Mar. 2024 The model can take a short text description of the game, a photo, or even a small sketch of what a game screen should look like and then generate a simple two-dimensional, arcade-style game from that input. Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 5 Mar. 2024 The 65th Anniversary Tour features some of the best sketch comedy and songs from the comedy vaults, updated for the modern era. The Enquirer, 4 Mar. 2024 For her third time as musical guest on the sketch comedy show, Musgraves, 35, took the stage to perform two tracks from her upcoming sixth studio album Deeper Well. Brendan Le, Peoplemag, 3 Mar. 2024 The following recommendations — consider these a sketch of an innovation blueprint — would be a good start: Forbes Daily: Join over 1 million Forbes Daily subscribers and get our best stories, exclusive reporting and essential analysis of the day’s news in your inbox every weekday. Deborah Wince-Smith, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 The sketch also included a cameo from SNL cast member James Austin Johnson as the actual Trump, and Mikey Day as someone who gets Biden sneakers and becomes too old to actually play ball. William Earl, Variety, 25 Feb. 2024 His artwork, from charcoal sketches to oil paintings, were included in his books and exhibited in museums in Arizona, New Mexico and North Dakota. Hillel Italie, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024
Verb
Maybe Scott Forstall had already sketched a skeuomorphic user interface full of digitized knobs and dials. Alistair Charlton, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 Navalny often sketched a vision of a Russia not only free, but also happy, where officials acted according to their consciences, not their material interests. Catherine Belton, Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2024 The upbeat leasing situation for the office building at 3155 Olsen Drive in San Jose was sketched out by top officials with Federal Realty Investment Trust, the principal owner and developer of Santana Row. George Avalos, The Mercury News, 13 Feb. 2024 Nine former officials hailing from three different administrations are urging President Biden to drop his plan for the National Institute of Standards and Technology to sketch out new scenarios for when the government can march in on pharmaceutical patents and license them to others. Sarah Owermohle, STAT, 6 Feb. 2024 Like his previous Walk-Ins—at Ethan James Green’s gallery New York Life on Canal Street last January, or his day sketching at Vogue’s Forces of Fashion in October, where Paloma Elsseser and Anok Yai sat for him—everything will be created in real time. Mark Holgate, Vogue, 23 Feb. 2024 Earlier this month, the administration asked individual schools and departments to sketch out budget cuts from 5 to 15 percent. Jack Healy, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2024 The development has emerged at a time when municipalities and counties statewide are under pressure to sketch out blueprints to develop housing of all types, including affordable homes. George Avalos, The Mercury News, 21 Feb. 2024 Designs are sketched, then prototyped in salpa, a cardboard-like composite that allows the basic structure to be tested. Paul Croughton, Robb Report, 17 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sketch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Dutch schets, from Italian schizzo, literally, splash, from schizzare to splash, of imitative origin

First Known Use

Noun

1668, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1694, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of sketch was in 1668

Dictionary Entries Near sketch

Cite this Entry

“Sketch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sketch. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sketch

1 of 2 noun
1
a
: a rough drawing representing the chief features of an object or scene
b
: a rough draft (as of a story)
2
: a brief description or outline
3
: a short comedy piece

sketch

2 of 2 verb
1
: to make a sketch, rough draft, or outline of
2
: to draw or paint a sketch
sketcher noun

More from Merriam-Webster on sketch

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