festoon

noun

fes·toon | \fe-ˈstün

Definition of festoon

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a decorative chain or strip hanging between two points walls decorated with festoons of flowers

2 : a carved, molded, or painted ornament representing a decorative chain Around the mirror were carved festoons of grapevines.

festoon

verb

festooned; festooning; festoons

Definition of festoon (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to hang or form festoons on

2 : to shape into festoons

3 : decorate, adorn also : cover sense 4b

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Examples of festoon in a Sentence

Verb

We festooned the halls with leaves and white lights. The balcony is festooned in ivy. His office is festooned with newspaper clippings.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Five minutes after beer became legal at midnight, a big truck, gay with festoons, rumbled to the service entrance of the White house, bearing two cases—a brewer’s gift to the president. — sandiegouniontribune.com, "April 7 1933: New Beer's Day," 7 Apr. 2018 Inside the Little A'Le'Inn, pictures of UFO sightings, alien masks and military memorabilia decorate, festoon, cover and otherwise dominate the walls and ceiling. — Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, "Hunting for Area 51's aliens along Nevada's Extraterrestrial Highway," 29 Mar. 2018 Rustic figures The cave had collapsed some years earlier, but that didn’t obscure the rustic figures of animals, fish and humans in daubs of black, white and red that festoon the entry wall. — Brian J. Cantwell, The Seattle Times, "From Loreto, 3 day-trip adventures in Baja’s high desert," 31 May 2017 Graffiti bearing the team's red dragons logo festoons the outside of the old stand, which is adorned with littered stairwells and poured cement with all the charm of an old prison. — Motez Bishara, CNN, "Champions League final 2017: Zinedine Zidane's incredible journey from Cannes to Cardiff," 1 June 2017 Rustic figures The cave had collapsed some years earlier, but that didn’t obscure the rustic figures of animals, fish and humans in daubs of black, white and red that festoon the entry wall. — Brian J. Cantwell, The Seattle Times, "From Loreto, 3 day-trip adventures in Baja’s high desert," 31 May 2017 In December, the council approved the design for the street, including a portion of the road ordained with overhead festoon lights. — Ryan Gillespie, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Maitland moves forward in reshaping downtown," 27 June 2017

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

But there’s something deliberate about the design elements in the series, just as there’s a reason boutiques festoon their doorways with artificial flowers and coffee shops agonize over the right shade of sage for their subway tiles. — Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, "Little Women for the Instagram Generation," 14 May 2018 The order's trio of emblems followed the queens, each festooned in singular splendor. — Michael Dumas, AL.com, "Show Us Your Mardi Gras Gowns: LaShe's embark on an 'Underwater Fantasy'," 7 Feb. 2018 The train itself is festooned inside-and-out with images of Hello Kitty and her iconic hair bows, from car exteriors to the windows, headrests and carpets. — Eli Meixler, Time, "Here's What It's Like Inside Japan's Hello Kitty-Themed Bullet Train," 27 June 2018 Each pizza box is festooned with a cartoon likeness of the chain’s founder and namesake, Happy Joe Whitty (who was a former Shakey’s Pizza manager). — Ann Friedman, Bon Appetit, "I Pine for Happy Joe’s Taco Pizza, the Culinary Relic of My Iowa Youth," 6 June 2018 In this world, a mermaid’s tail is festooned with rubber gloves. — New York Times, "Bikini Bottom by Way of Party City," 11 May 2018 The front of his Ballard & Parker Service Center was festooned with Trump banners, but Parker laughed when asked about the Red Hen incident. — Gregory S. Schneider, Washington Post, "The story must be told.," 26 June 2018 City streets are festooned with flags, banners and billboards of Erdogan and the AKP, far outnumbering the other candidates' posters. — Elena Becatoros And Zeynep Bilginsoy, Fox News, "Turkey heads to landmark presidential, parliamentary vote," 22 June 2018 In one picture, the 40-year-old designer poses on a truly impressive installation of giant books festooned in green and blue balloons, offering a peek at her growing baby bump (and another enviable maternity look). — Taysha Murtaugh, Country Living, "Pregnant Joanna Gaines Celebrates Her Fifth Child With the Cutest Baby Shower Ever," 11 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'festoon.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.